Nathan Scott, HCM
by A-Scrape1010
Summary: What would happen if  Season 2  Nathan Scott found out that HE had HCM, not Lucas? What would happen to his basketball career? How would this affect the Tree Hillers? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is the first chapter of the first story. Don't be too harsh now! ;) but please do read and review. If ya like it, I'll continue.. input on what to change and anything you'd like to see, don't hesitate to tell me. Hopefully somebody'll wanna see this vision I have in my head! Thanks y'all! **

**What would happen if (Season 2) Nathan were to find out that HE had HCM, not Lucas? How would this affect the Tree Hill world? What would happen to Nathan's basketball career?**

Nathan walked up to the RiverCourt, watching Lucas shoot around. He slowed as Lucas shot the ball, effortlessly making it into the net. Nathan started to feel a lump in his throat. Basketball; the sound as rubber meets concrete, the smell of fresh air off the river, the feel of a size 7 Spalding. God, he was going to miss this. It was his dream. Ever since he was a kid he ate, drank, and slept basketball. It was the center of his world.

At least it was until Haley came along. …Haley… How would he tell her? What would she say? Would she still love him for the man he was or would she stay with him out of pity for the broken man he would soon become?

This felt like a death sentence. Death to him and Haley, to his basketball career, to his hopes, to his dreams… to him..

Suddenly, Nathan was pulled out of his thoughts.

"Nate! You alive in there, man?" Lucas yelled.

"Oh…. Yeah, sorry… I'm still here." Nathan said. _For now at least…_ He was so deeply lost in wondering that he hadn't realized he had stopped a few feet in front of the RiverCourt. Lucas had been waving his hand in front of Nathan's face and he still hadn't noticed.

"Where's your head at, Nate? You look lost." Lucas said.

"Just been a long day. Whadda ya say we shoot some ball, big brother? Game to 11?" Nathan said, trying to sound as happy as possible. He didn't want to tell Lucas just yet. He wasn't sure that he wanted to tell anyone yet. Or at all.

"Sure, little brother." Lucas said, not convinced that Nathan was okay. But he wouldn't push the subject. He knew Nathan would talk to him when he was ready. Of course, if that wasn't in the next day or so and Nathan still seemed like a lost little puppy dog, Lucas was going to have to take some serious action. He didn't like seeing his brother upset.

As Nathan and Lucas played, Lucas noticed that Nathan was getting more and more out of breath. They were only at 6 points each and Nathan already looked like he needed a rest. "Nate, you need some water? You're getting really winded and fast. This isn't like you."

"Lucas, back off! I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me!" Nathan yelled. All he wanted was to play the game he loved and not have to think about anything for a while. Couldn't Lucas just leave it alone? _Of course you want to know what's wrong with me. You're healthy and I'm not! You chose not to know and I had to be the stupid one to take the test. Now my life's ruined. God, what am I gunna do? _

"If you're fine, then I'm Kobe Bryant, man and I'm definitely not Laker material yet!" Lucas said in a rather harsh tone.

"Drop it or I'll drop you!" Nathan said and he stepped closer to his brother, his fist balled up.

"Nathan, what the hell is wrong with you? You walk up zoned out, you brush that off and play to 6 and you're winded. Now you're pissed at me for being worried and you're going to do what? Hit your brother? Fine then! Hit me if that's what you feel like you should do! Or you could just tell me what's going on and we can talk about this!" Lucas yelled.

Nathan turned around and without a word walked off the RiverCourt. This was too much for him to handle right now. He couldn't hit his brother. Poor Lucas didn't even have a clue what was going on. Nathan guessed that since Lucas hadn't taken the HCM test, the results from it weren't on his mind. At least he was safe from having to worry about living with a heart condition. But Nathan couldn't help the selfish feeling of wishing it wasn't him. He heard Lucas call his name over and over but he kept walking. He wasn't going to turn around and he wasn't about to tell Lucas that he had a heart condition and he would most likely have to quit the Ravens. Nathan was scared more than anything and he hated that feeling. He never wanted to afraid of anything, and now here was this... this heart condition. Something that would require him to take medicine every day for the rest of his life. Something that could cause him to have a heart attack. Something that he was afraid would cause him to lose Haley. She promised to love him always and forever. She promised to be there in sickness and in health. So why was he _afraid_ that he would lose her? He felt like half a man. Like he wasn't sure that he'd be able to keep up with Haley and their future children, if they ever had them. Kids! Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. He had been walking so long that he was almost home and he had just realized something. If he and Haley were to have children, he could pass this on to them! Tears began to run down his cheeks.

_God, what am I gunna do?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So the first chapter was really short.. I won't do that again. It was the first chapter and the introduction to the story. In case anyone's confused, anything in italics so far has been thoughts and I'm pretty sure it'll stay that way. Get ready for some flashback-ness as the majority of this chapter. And some spread throughout the next couple chapters.. probably.. The flashbacks will be true to OTH with a bit thrown in to make the story make sense. Sorry about the lack of an update. I was trying to clean the house for the fiance to get home and then this afternoon a friend called and needed me to drive her mom and little sister to the animal ER. Unfortunately, Abby didn't make it and tonight she passed. :( Hopefully the chapter is worth the wait.. Oh! AND just throwing this one out there- I don't own One Tree Hill or any of it's characters! Read and Review! **

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Nathan stood there motionless. He didn't know how to approach this with Haley. Did he tell her flat out? Should he act like everything was normal and wait a while to tell her? _Maybe I shouldn't have come here yet. I'm not ready for this. Not now. _If Nathan was honest with himself, he'd say he'd never be ready for this. He knew he shouldn't be afraid of what Haley would say or how she would react but he couldn't help it. When they said they would be there in sickness and in health, they were both healthy. Or at least they both thought they were. Where would he go from here? Nathan knew he needed to talk to someone about this. Definitely not Haley yet. He didn't want to talk to Lucas, not that he couldn't trust his older brother, but Nathan was definitely concerned that Lucas would go straight to Haley. Nathan wasn't ready to worry his mom with this yet. Aside from Brooke (who for sure wouldn't keep her mouth shut) and Peyton (who was broody enough and didn't need to worry about him) there were only two other options. _Oh no, not even an option. There's no way I'm going to Dan about this. He'll find out soon enough, but it's most definitely not going to be today!_

This left only one person Nathan could talk to: Keith.

With that thought, Nathan turned around and headed to the garage. He knew Keith would be there. He had to be. Nathan felt like he was going crazy. Right then all he could think about was basketball. As he walked, he felt a cool breeze. He took in a deep breath and smelled the Tree Hill High gym. He smelled the wood floors and the sweat. The basketballs and popcorn from the concessions. Nathan was no where near the school yet, why was he smelling this? Suddenly, he was hit with a memory: the night he collapsed during a game. He shuddered as he thought about it all.

_There was an intense game coming up on Friday night. They were so close to giving their beloved Coach Whitey an undefeated season. All they had to do was beat Cove City. Besides the fact that Whitey had told them the sun wouldn't rise the next day if they lost. Nathan had been pushing himself so hard to get ready for this game. Dan was constantly pushing him as well. He told Nathan over and over that he wasn't good enough. Dan told him he wasn't "tough enough inside." He reminded Nathan that he set the record with 42 points against the Cavaliers. Nathan was sure he could beat Dan's scoring record. He had to. Nathan walked out of the kitchen and up to his room. He called his best friend, Tim. _

"_What up, baller?" Tim said. _

"_You do know you're white, Tim." Nathan said snidely. _

"_What's wrong with you?" Tim asked. _

"_Is your brother still dealing?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I need to tear it up against Cove City." Nathan said._

"_How's getting high gonna help?" Tim asked, confused._

"_Not weed, Tim, performance enhancers." Nathan said, getting frustrated. "Look, just tell your brother I need to be on the floor for 40 minutes and I need to be in a different gear."_

"_You sure about this?" Tim sounded concerned._

"_Yeah, he'll know what to get." Nathan said, hanging up the phone. _

_He turned around and saw a picture of him and Dan sitting on his dresser. Seeing Dan's face made him mad. He threw the phone at the picture and knocked it off. He was sick of having to try to one-up Dan but this time he was bound and determined to do whatever he had to in order to beat him. He wouldn't let Dan win this time._

_The next day, he met Tim in the locker room before practice. Tim handed him the pills and told him to be careful. Nathan didn't seem to care. He told Tim it didn't matter, as long as he got jacked for the game. Tim turned and walked out of the locker room, of course, not without making a joke about how if Nathan grew breasts, he got first peek. At practice, Nathan got more agitated than normal after going up for a rebound and fouling. He even went as far as to yell at Whitey, who then kicked him out of practice. Over the next few days, Nathan got progressively worse. He was jumpy when Haley walked up behind him and he even copped an attitude with her. He was in the weight room and Lucas walked in to check on him. Nathan got frustrated with him too. He was jumpy and constantly pissed about anything and everything. _

_Game night. Nathan was only 5 points away from breaking Dan's scoring record. He got the ball and made a three pointer. 2 points left. Turnover. Nathan pushes the ball to the goal. Unfortunately, he pushed too hard and knocked a player from Cove City onto the floor. The ref blew the whistle and called charging on Nathan. The ref yelled, "NO BASKET!""NO basket? WHAT?" Nathan yelled. Whitey motioned for Nathan to come to the bench. Lucas looked at him and noticed he was breathing hard. "Man, what's going on? You can't catch you're breath, you're more pissed than normal, you've played the entire game with really no break. You alright?" Lucas asked. He was really concerned about his brother. "I will be two points from now." Nathan said, still out of breath. When Nathan rejoined the team on the floor, he seemed weak. Lucas passed Nathan the ball and he just stood there. He wobbled back and forth a bit, his vision growing darker. Suddenly, Nathan felt a sharp, shooting pain in his chest. He couldn't breathe. He heard Lucas, "Nate... Nate!" Lucas sounded like he was under water. Then the gym went black. Nathan hit the floor. The next thing Nathan knew, he was waking up in a hospital bed, hooked to monitors and IVs. _

_As he opened his eyes, he saw Dan standing over him. Was Dan actually concerned? "No, he's just worried about my future in basketball," Nathan thought. The doctor came in and asked Nathan all kinds of questions about different steroids. He simply said no to most and then Dan interjected when the doctor asked about speed and cocaine. Dan was angry. Drugs? Nathan? No way! "At least, not cocaine..." Nathan thought. Dan and the doctor stepped out into the hallway, but not out of Nathan's earshot. He heard the doctor tell Dan that he tested positive for amphetamines. His heart had been racing so fast. He could have had a heart attack! Then the doctor said something about more tests. Nathan wasn't sure what tests but he knew that he didn't want to be there anymore. He had to talk to Haley. Nathan had been so horrible to her for the last week, he had to make things right. He unhooked himself from the monitors and the IVs and crept out of the room without anyone noticing. Dan told the doctor that he had HCM and that maybe they should test Nathan to make sure that wasn't a contributing factor to Nathan's collapse. The doctor agreed to the test and the two turned toward Nathan's room. There was nothing but an empty bed. Nathan was gone. Deb walked to the door of Nathan's room and worriedly asked where he was. Dan just looked at her. _

Nathan was pulled out of his memories when he heard to door to Keith's garage open. Nathan had to shake his head to snap himself back to reality.

"Nathan... you okay?" Keith asked.

"...yeah... yeah, I'm good. Actually, no, I'm really not. Keith, I need to talk to you about something." Nathan said finally.

"Okay, well come on in and let's talk. Am I gonna need a beer for this?" Keith said with a smile.

Nathan just sort of stared at him. _Typical Keith, trying to lighten the mood. Wish I could laugh right about now._ "Maybe.. I might need one myself." Nathan said with a semi-serious tone. Nathan's face looked pale, his eyes heavy and his brow furrowed. Keith was getting really concerned.

"I think you know that you can talk to me, Nathan. Tell me what's wrong. What's got you down?" Keith asked.

"You can't tell anyone. Not Mom, not Dad, not Karen, not even Lucas. No one. And just in case you think you can find a loophole, not Haley or Whitey either. This has to stay between me and you for right now. I'll tell everybody soon. I just need to talk about it first. Wrap my head around it. Can you promise me that?" Nathan said, seriously.

"Nate, I'll promise that I won't say anything yet. But if this is something as serious as it sounds, I'll have to say something if you don't." Keith said.

"I'll take that." Nathan said with a nod. This was about to be a tough conversation. Of course, it would be much easier than the one that he would have later with Haley. Nathan took a deep breath and looked at the ground. He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at Keith as he exhaled.

_Here goes nothing..._

**A/N: Cliffhanger! I know! I'm sorry! But I need more inspiration for this and it's just not coming right now... plus, I thought maybe this way I could get y'all excited for the next chapter and that might give me the motivation I need. Lol. Going to go watch some Season 2 now! Read, Enjoy (I hope!) and REVIEW! **Reviews will definitely get another chapter out of me sooner!****


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! I promise, they're really what got me writing today.. (plus seeing all the alerts.. yeah.. that made me feel better about this..) Lucas and Nathan will definitely have more interaction in this chapter.. You'll be amazed, actually. And just so everyone knows, Nathan's not telling Haley in this chapter. That'll be next chapter. Sorry if this disappoints, but I really want to give Keith and Nathan more interaction than they got on the show and Nathan and Lucas really need to bond some! =) hehehe.. So, on to the next installment. Read and Enjoy.. most importantly, Review after Reading. **

**Chapter 3**

Nathan couldn't seem to stand still. He'd put one foot in front of the other and then pull it back to the side again. How would he word this? Should he just blurt it out? Beat around the bush a little, maybe Keith could figure it out on his own. Nathan opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. _Come on, Nathan! Talk! It's Keith.. _

"So, you know Lucas and I went to Charlotte. Well, we didn't just go to watch the Bobcats kill the Blazers. There's a hospital there that does free student athlete screenings once a month. We went there to get tested to see if we have HCM. Lucas didn't know. I had already made the appointments before we left so I kind of slammed him with it after the game was over. Then we sat and talked about it; the fact that it's genetic, the chances of having it, the risks, the fact that if we DID have it, basketball was over. I wanted us both to be safe, to be okay, to know that we didn't have it. So we went the next morning and I had the test done first. They got me hooked up and got started and Lucas freaked. He said he didn't want to know. I didn't understand.," Nathan chuckled. "Now I know why."

Keith's eyes widened and his brow furrowed. "What do you mean, Nate?" he asked.

"Well," Nathan started. "I got a phone call this morning. I got the test results back." Nathan hung his head as tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. He took in a deep breath and lifted his head as the tears began to fall."I have HCM, Keith. My life... as I know it... it's over."

Keith walked over to Nathan and put a caring arm around him. "Oh Nathan," Keith said softly.

Nathan turned and buried his head in Keith's shoulder as Keith wrapped his other arm around Nathan to hold him up. Nathan cried out, "What am I gonna do, Keith? What am I gonna DO? Basketball... it's over... Dan's gonna flip out. How the hell am I gonna tell Haley?"

Keith just kept holding him as he cried. _Poor Nate._ "Nathan, come on, it's going to be okay. Just breathe. Everything's going to be alright." Keith tried to comfort Nathan. He wanted Nathan to know that he was there for him every step of the way. "Nate, you and I, we're gonna do anything and everything we can to find you some treatment for this. Maybe basketball isn't over. Maybe you'll have to cut back some, but we'll find a way for you to still play." Keith said, trying to smile and encourage Nathan.

"I just don't see how. This feels like a death sentence." Nathan said as he pulled away from Keith and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

A door opened. "Keith! You in here?" Lucas yelled.

"Damn!" Nathan said under his breath as he tried to pull himself together, hoping Lucas wouldn't know he had been crying.

Lucas rounded the corner to see Keith looking at him and Nathan with his back turned. Nathan turned only his head to look at Lucas and quickly turned back around. _Has he... has he been crying? Man, see, I knew something was wrong earlier. _Lucas looked at Keith almost as if to ask what was wrong with Nathan. Keith simply said, "Ask Nate," and nodded to Nathan. "Come on, tell your brother what's wrong, Nathan. He needs to know."

Lucas looked at Nathan with a worried expression. Something had to be seriously wrong if he was crying. Lucas' first thought was that something happened to Haley. Keith said Lucas needed to know, it must have been about Haley. His heart raced and his stomach lurched. _Oh God... Hales. _"What is it, Nathan? Is it Haley? What's wrong with her?"

Nathan just stared blankly. "Luke, it's not Hales. It's me." He hung his head and stared at the floor.

Lucas' eyes widened as his jaw dropped. He took a few steps forward and put his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "What is it? Please tell me, Nate. I knew you weren't acting right earlier. What's going on?"

Nathan took in a deep breath. "You can't tell Haley, Lucas. You have to let me talk to her first. And I will, I swear. I just couldn't do it yet and I may not for a couple of days. All I ask is that you respect me and let me tell her my way and when I'm ready to." Nathan pleaded. Lucas simply nodded and continued to listen intently. "Well, I got a phone call this morning from that doctor in Charlotte that ran my HCM test. He was pretty short and to the point. He wants me to find a cardiologist here and get started on some sort of medicine. I have HCM, Luke. That's it for basketball. My whole life was planned out and it was centered around the one thing I know I'm good at. I don't know what to do now. I don't know how to tell Haley. How am I going to make a living for us? My dream was to be in the NBA and Haley would have been taken care of her entire life because of it. What do I do now? I mean, no offense Keith 'cause you rock at it but, I'm not going to be able to make a living being a mechanic. I suck at it! Haley would go hungry if she relied on me as a mechanic." Nathan rambled on.

Lucas cleared his throat and started, "Nathan, calm down, man. We'll figure this out. Let's start with the fact that you're supposed to be calling and making an appointment with a cardiologist. Everything's going to be okay, Nate," Lucas said as he hugged his brother. "You just have to take it one step at a time. And don't you ever, ever, ever forget that I'm here for you. And so is Keith. Haley will be too as soon as you tell her. She's going to love you no matter what. I know you, and I know you think you're broken now or something but Haley's not going to see it that way."

"But I don't want her to have to be worried every day for the rest of our lives. I want her to have everything she's ever dreamed of and more. I'm afraid that now I can't give her that." Nathan said, sadly.

"Nate, you've given her more than she ever dreamed already. You've given her a love that she can't deny. You gave her your heart. HCM, it's genetic. You've had it your whole life, it just decided to show up now. So before you go and think you're broken, you're not. You never have been. Stop worrying. Haley's going to love you just the same. Always and forever, right? With the right treatment, always and forever is going to be a long time!" Keith said with a smile. He always knew just what to say and when to say it. Keith was amazing that way. Lucas looked at him and just smiled. This man was and had been, for all intents and purposes, his father. He looked up to Keith and he always would.

"Keith's right, Nathan. Haley's always been like a sister to me and you're the one who made her my actual sister. I know her like the back of my hand and I know she's going to stand by you through this. She'll be your comfort and your rock. You have to tell her tonight and you have to let her help you get through this. You just have to let her." Lucas urged.

Nathan stood there and thought for a minute before saying anything. So much was running through his head. What would he do without his brother and his uncle? Lucas was right, they were always there for him. Nathan hadn't gotten to have much interaction with Keith in the past, thanks to Dan, but now that he was emancipated and married to Haley, he wanted to change that. Maybe that was why he came to Keith in the first place. He had wanted to tell Lucas when he went to the RiverCourt but he just couldn't bring himself to. Now that he was here and he had Keith by his side, it was so much easier. Keith really was a rock for both brothers. _Maybe I should get both of them to come with me when I tell Haley...? I just don't know if I'm ready to be that weak in front of her yet. _"Keith, you're right. We said always and forever. I want to make that a long time. Luke, I've very very rarely been weak in front of Haley. I've always been the tough one. When she cries or when she's sad, I make her happy, I make her smile. When she needs to be held, I hold her in my arms. I'm just scared to let her do that for me. I'm scared to be less than what she expects. I think that's why I'm afraid to tell her. I don't want to look like a wuss in front of her." Nathan admitted.

"It doesn't make you look weak. It's a marriage, Nate. You're supposed to be able to lean on each other. Not just one lean on the other. There has to be some give and take and I know Haley knows that too. Let her in, Nathan. It's okay." Keith said as he placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder in that Keith Scott comforting way again.

Nathan nodded. "Okay. Tonight it is then." He shook his head. "I'm still scared though."

"There's nothing wrong with that, little brother. I didn't take the test, remember why?" Lucas asked.

"You said you didn't want to know." Nathan stated.

Lucas nodded once, "I don't want to know because I'm scared to know. Part of the reason I'm scared is because I don't want to live the rest of my life in fear if I DO have it. And I don't want you to either. I know I keep saying it but I really want you to believe it; everything is going to be okay."

Part of Nathan was starting to believe that it really would be okay. But of course, another part of him was still terrified. Haley... Basketball... Haley... Basketball.. Haley... Dan...

"Keith, don't tell Dan. I don't want him to know anything yet. Nothing. That's a fear it might take some time to overcome." Nathan said.

"I won't. But you have to promise me that you'll make an appointment with a doctor tomorrow. You need to talk to Whitey too. I'll go with you to do that if you need me to. Maybe you can still play, just not be on the floor for a full game. Regardless, First thing's first. Go home, talk to Haley and call us if you need us." Keith rambled and caught himself.

"I'll call the doctor in the morning." Nathan promised.

"I love you, little brother." Lucas said.

"And I love you too, nephew." Keith said.

"I love both of you. Thank you for being here for me. I don't know what I'd do without you two." Nathan said as he turned around to leave. He walked to the door and turned the knob. "HCM... thanks a lot, Dan..." Nathan said under his breath as he opened the door and walked out.

The sun was setting as he walked home. He thought about what Haley would be doing when he got there. She was probably cooking dinner in her cute jeans and a t-shirt with her hair pulled up in a bun. As he thought about his wife, Nathan smiled. Her love was going to be what gave him the strength to go on. Lucas was right.

_Everything's going to be okay..._

**A/N: I'm SOOOOO sorry this is so late! I've been trying to get my internet up and running at my house and it's not been working at all... it's ridiculous! I've had this written and completed for like two days now.. buh! My weekend will be insanely busy (Bridal shower and mine and the fiance's anniversary) so hopefully I'll have another update written and ready to be posted by the end of next week! Maybe I can get one out sooner than that but I'm so not promising anything! Hope this chapter was worth the wait! Review Review Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay, so it's been a really long time since I've updated and I can only ask for your forgiveness. As I had said in my Author's Notes, I got married.. it's been crazy hectic, we're moving... my life has been a mess. I've not forgotten about the story or any of you who actually read this.. Therefore, I'm terribly sorry that you've had to wait so long for an update. ((and even for reviews for the stories that I read myself..)) ANYWAYS! On to the fun that is the next installment of Nathan Scott, HCM. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**Sidenote: This isn't everything that I promised it would be. It is however, half of what I had said before. Next chapter (which, I'm already working on because I'm a writing machine tonight) will include the last half of what I had said. But before I give anything away, enjoy! =) **

**Chapter 4**

Nathan stood at the door of his and Haley's apartment for what seemed like an eternity. He placed his ear to the door and listened to see if Haley was home. He heard dishes clanging and water running. Nathan had been right, she was cooking dinner. He closed his eyes and imagined again what she looked like in that moment; cute jeans, t-shirt, hair up in a cute little bun. He just wanted to walk in the door, grab his wife around her waist and kiss her. He didn't want to tell her what he knew he had to, what he knew would worry and scare her.

_I'm not ready for this at all... but it's now or never._

Nathan grabbed the doorknob and turned it slowly. He had to tell her now or he'd never tell her at all. He pushed open the door carefully, trying his best not to make too much noise. He didn't even want her to know that he was there yet. Nathan stood in the doorway, taking in Haley's beauty as she was cooking them dinner. Yep, there was the cute jeans that fit her perfectly, the t-shirt that made her look comfortable and her hair up in a bun, out of her face and showing off her gorgeous, slender neck. Nathan basked in the simplicity for a moment. Haley's love and her strength and all that she put into their marriage, their life, it inspired Nathan so much more than he'd ever be able to convey. He admired her in every moment and right now was no different. He took in a deep breath and smelled what was on the stove: chicken parmesan. He could smell the spices. Then he smelled garlic bread. _Mmm.. My woman can cook!_ Nathan closed the door behind him and made Haley jump. She quickly turned around to see Nathan at the door. She walked over to him and swatted him with the towel that was on her shoulder.

"Oh, Nathan Scott!" Haley yelled, "you scared me! I didn't even hear you come in!"

"I'm sorry, Hales, I didn't mean to scare you," he said as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. He looked her in the eyes and leaned in to give her a kiss on the lips. "Dinner smells great! Chicken Parmesan?"

"How'd you guess?" she said, leaning back to look him in the eyes.

"Garlic bread. I smelled it when I opened the door."

"I see... Hey, where've you been?" Haley said as she cocked her head to the side, "I expected you home a while ago. I was startin' to get a little worried."

"I've been..." he paused. _I've been yelling at my brother and crying to my uncle and scared.. no, terrified.. and worried and depressed and.. and missing you... _"at the RiverCourt with Lucas for a while, then went by Keith's and talked to him for a bit about basketball." he finished. Nathan couldn't bring himself to tell her. Not yet. He knew that if he did, she wouldn't eat dinner and she seemed to have worked pretty hard on it.

"What about you? What has my beautiful wife done today?" Nathan asked.

Haley sighed contentedly and nuzzled her head into Nathan's chest."Well, if you REALLY want to know..." she took in a deep breath and continued, "I spent the day cleaning our pig sty of a bedroom. Do you realize how many changes of clothes you go through and that you never put anything more than one sock into a hamper? Anyway, then I cleaned the living room and then the bathroom and before I cleaned the entire kitchen, I decided to cook dinner. Oh, and I got to hang with Brooke and Peyton earlier."

Nathan laughed at Haley's rambling. She was so cute when she rambled. "Really now?" he said, still chuckling.

Haley leaned back again to look at his eyes, "Why are you laughing?" Haley asked, with a grin.

Nathan shook his head and said, "You're just so cute when you ramble like that. But I am sorry about not putting my dirty clothes in a hamper. I'll have to work on that, huh?"

Haley stepped back and turned toward the stove, remembering dinner was still cooking. She walked over to check on the chicken and said, "Yes sir, I do believe so!"

Nathan had forgotten all about the news he had to tell Haley. As long as she had been in his arms, all was right in the world. He didn't want to ruin how happy they were right now with his gloomy news. He didn't really feel like crying right now either. He furrowed his brow and thought about it all.

_So happy... So full of life... So completely unaware that very soon she's going to realize how shaken up my world is right now... and how shaken up her world is about to get. After dinner, I'll have to drop the bomb. God, I don't wanna tell her. _

Nathan walked over to the cabinets and pulled out two plates and two glasses and sat them on the bar. He turned and opened a drawer and grabbed two forks. Haley looked over her shoulder to see what Nathan was doing. Was he setting them a place to eat? She was pretty sure that was what he was doing. Look at Nathan be helpful! Haley smiled as she turned back around to keep stirring. Nathan finished up putting ice water in their glasses and sat down.

"Are you ready for the best meal you've ever eaten in your life?" Haley said with a smile.

Nathan smirked, "I'm ready to attempt to eat what you call Chicken Parmesan."

Haley poked her bottom lip out. "At least I tried. I didn't see you in here doing any of this," she said.

"Um, if I remember right, I set the bar for us. So really, I did help, at least a little bit." Nathan shot back.

"Touche..." Haley said, defeated.

Haley plated their food and grabbed the garlic bread out of the oven. She sat next to Nathan as they began to eat dinner. She couldn't help but wonder why he had been so helpful. He seemed to be in a strange mood. Not that he didn't appreciate all that Haley did for him, he showed her every day that he did. But this was just odd. He seemed normal but not, like he was here with her physically, but mentally his head was somewhere else. But even that didn't seem right because he was very much there mentally too. Haley couldn't explain it, not even in her head. Now it was just bothering her not being able to make sense of it.

"What's in your head, Nathan?" She said in between bites.

Nathan swallowed hard.

_Dammit, Lucas! I swear, if I find out you told her before I got the chance to... Woah... Nathan, there's no way she knows.. She couldn't have hidden that from you... I'm really talking to myself.. Hello? Your wife just asked you a question, you have no food in your mouth and you're not drinking, she's gunna start wondering what the hell is going on if you don't come on and answer her... Buy yourself some time, take a drink._

Nathan fake coughed, held up a finger and picked up his glass to take a drink.

"Went down the wrong way. Sorry. Now, what was the question?" he said, nervously shifting in his chair.

"What's in your head? What've you been thinking about and why do you seem here but distant?" Haley asked.

Haley still had half her dinner on her plate. Nathan didn't want to say anything yet. How in the hell was he supposed to play this off? There was no taking a drink to buy time, no fake coughing, no yelling at Haley, no running out the door. This was his wife and it was her right to know. But right or wrong, he never wanted her to have to share this burden with him. She continued to eat her dinner and waited for him to respond. Now Haley was really starting to worry. She sat her fork down on her plate and turned to Nathan.

"I'm done eating. Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking," she said.

Nathan looked at his plate. He couldn't eat anymore. It was now or never. _Never. Never ever ever. Ugh! Now._

"Well, the thing is... I, um... I kinda got a phone call this morning. This past weekend when Lucas and I went to Charlotte, we did more than just go to the game. We didn't stay the night because we were tired or wanted to spend time together, we stayed because I had made appointments for us for the next morning." Nathan paused to look at Haley. Her eyes were full of concern and confusion. She didn't understand what he was talking about. An appointment for what? But she didn't say anything, not one word. She just sat there and looked intently at Nathan as he continued. "There's a hospital there that does free athletic screenings once a month. They do physicals and we went to find out if we have HCM, the disease that Dan has. It's genetic. Lucas and I talked about it the night before; the risks, what this would mean for our lives if we had it, what it would mean for... for basketball..." Nathan trailed off. Haley put a loving hand on his knee as he finished, "Hales, Lucas didn't take the test. He was afraid to find out what the results were, he didn't want to know and nobody could make him stay. They had hooked me up first so he got the chance to run... He took it... I wish I had."

"So what are you saying, Nathan, did the doctor call you to tell you you're alright?" Haley asked, with a thick voice. Her heart was in her throat. She was terrified. Her brow furrowed and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

Nathan looked away from her as he spoke, "I have HCM, Haley. I have it. I've always had it. It just decided to show up now."

He couldn't talk anymore. He looked back at her as she began to cry. Seeing tears rolling down her beautiful cheeks broke his heart. Nathan wiped his eyes and realized he had started crying himself. This was the last thing that he ever wanted to have to tell her; that he had some disease that was about to change the course of their entire lives together, that it changed basketball, that it would change him. Haley reached a hand to Nathan's face and gently wiped the tears from his cheeks. She couldn't imagine what he was going through right now but she wasn't quite sure if she could handle it. She just kept crying. It was selfish of her, but the only thing that she could feel at this exact moment was that the life she thought she would have was about to drastically change. She most definitely wouldn't be able to tell him about wanting to meet more with Chris Keller. She hadn't even told him yet about what she had done over the weekend. She wanted the music so badly, but there was no way she could pursue anything. Her head was in a million places. Haley needed to talk to someone right now. It couldn't be Nathan.

"Always and Forever, Nathan, that's what we promised," she said, "and I love you, but I have to go."

And just like that, Haley ran out the front door. No turning around to say bye, no comforting Nathan as he cried, no anything. She was sobbing as she flew down the stairs. Haley felt terrible about just leaving like that but at the moment it was too much for her to take. She had to talk to Lucas.

Meanwhile, Nathan sat at the bar completely and utterly at a loss for any logical thought process. What the hell just happened here? He was pretty sure that he had just told his wife that he had a disease that would change their lives and she walked out. And what the hell was that shit, "Always and Forever" and then leave? Don't think that was the vow that they made. Was she leaving for good or for now or was she just as scared as he was and needed a minute to herself? No matter the case, he was angry. As he stood up, he grabbed his plate off the bar and threw it at the refrigerator. With his other hand he pushed everything else on the bar into the floor. Nathan walked over and stood in front of the sink, bowing his head. He turned on his heel and slid down into the floor, sobbing. He would have to quit basketball, his wife walked out the door on him, and everyone seemed to think it would all be okay. His life was falling apart. How was this going to be okay?

_How am I supposed to go on like this?_

Nathan picked himself up off the floor and went to the freezer. He opened the door and grabbed the unopened bottle of vodka. He stared at it for a moment. Then he twisted the top and went back to his spot in the floor in front of the kitchen sink. He sobbed as he drank himself into oblivion.

_Solace in a bottle. _


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, I really just wanted to get that last chapter out so I cut everything in half.. Plus, I kinda hadn't meant to take so long for the whole Nathan telling Haley and Haley reacting and Nathan's reaction to Haley reacting... yeah.. I just wasn't sure it was gunna turn out like that, but it did. And as promised, I had a chapter out Friday. ((well okay, it's technically saturday here.. 1:14 in the morning.. but still.. it's friday night..? maybe?)) anyway, I'm continuing to write tonight and hoping last chapter holds you all over til I can get this chapter out.. Thanks for reading, for having been so very patient with me and for reviewing! Loves! **

**((P.S., flashback is from Season 2, Episode 8.. verbatim. **

**P.P.S., I don't own anything...))**

**Chapter 5**

Haley didn't know what to do with her feelings. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and through eyes filled with tears, dialed Lucas' number.

"Hello? ….. Haley? Ya there?" Lucas answered.

Haley sniffled, "Yeah... yeah I'm... here," she said between sobs. "Lucas... I need... to talk..."

"Meet me at the RiverCourt. Five minutes." Lucas said.

_He must know already. Thanks a lot, Nathan, for telling your brother before you told your wife. _

Haley stifled another sob, "Five... minutes..." she said as she closed her phone. Her best friend would know exactly what to say to make her feel better. He always did. Haley never felt worse in her entire life. Not only had she lied to Nathan about what she was doing after he left for Charlotte, but now he had just told her that he had a life-threatening illness and she walked out on him. Actually, if you want to get technical, she RAN out on him.

_He must be terrified and worried and upset and not, thanks to me, _hurt_. But that doesn't change the fact that now I know he told Lucas before he told me. Did he not even think to come to me first? Or was he afraid to come to me? I don't know how to handle this, how to handle him. He cried. Nathan Royal Scott, broke down in tears. In front of me. This is bad. This is really really bad. _

Haley hadn't realized that she had made it to the RiverCourt already until she tripped over a basketball. Catching herself on one of the bleachers, she sobbed even harder. Not because she was hurt but because it made her think about Nathan's words and the tears he had cried when he said them. _"Lucas and I talked about it the night before; the risks, what this would mean for our lives if we had it, what it would mean for... for basketball..." _He had seemed so distant as he spoke. Like he felt this was the end of everything. Haley's reaction to the news couldn't have made him feel at ease. She sat down on the ground and put her head in her hands. Five minutes was almost up.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Nathan was a sloppy mess. Where had all this alcohol come from? _Tim._ _He would leave his shit here. Oh well, his loss. _Take it back, Nathan was beyond a sloppy mess, he was a complete train wreck. His wife had really and truly walked out on him. It might not have meant that she wasn't coming back, but that was the furthest thing from Nathan's mind right now. Vodka, Gin, Rum and a bit of Whiskey were clouding all his thoughts. _More Whiskey. _But he couldn't pick himself up off the floor. Nathan began to sob again. _Basketball, Haley, life..._ And with that, he passed out.

"Are you joking, Hales? You really just ran out the door and didn't look back? Do you realize what he's going through right now? He's scared shitless and hurt and worried about YOU! He went to Keith before he went to anyone! He almost punched me right here on the RiverCourt earlier because he was so upset about all this! And you were honestly selfish enough to walk out on the man that you said Always and Forever to?" Lucas said, angrily. He couldn't believe that his best friend and now sister-in-law could possibly be THAT selfish that she was only thinking of herself right now. This was so unlike Haley. There had to have been something else going on, something that she was distracted by.

"I know, Luke, I know! But I can't help it! It's so much right now! There's so much to think about and Nathan cried, Lucas! He cried! In front of me! That has to mean that this is bad! I just don't know if I'm ready to handle bad right now! We just got married, we've already been through enough and I don't know that I can handle any more!" Haley almost yelled.

Lucas looked disgusted. He didn't even know what to say. This wasn't the reaction that he was expecting from Haley. The crying was okay in Lucas' eyes, but the fact that the crying wasn't because she was upset about her husband but rather because she was worried about herself was wrong. There had to be something underneath this, a reason behind the selfishness.

"I'm scared, Lucas. I'm scared that the life that we want can't happen now, that we're going to struggle every single day to keep our heads up and that... that something could happen to Nathan... I'm scared." Haley said as the tears began to fall again.

Lucas hugged her. "I love you, Hales, you're my best friend. I know you're scared, but believe me, Nathan's way past scared and he needs his wife right now. He needs the strong woman that we both know you are. But if you're not gonna be that for him, then you were right to run away. Haley, what in the hell is going through your head right now? What's going on behind this? There has to be some other reason besides that you're scared. What is it?" He asked.

Haley bit her bottom lip as she shook her head. She wasn't about to tell him anything. Not now, at least.

_Lucas had the hood popped on his car as Haley and Brooke walked over to him and Nathan. He was no doubt checking the oil before their trip to Charlotte. _

"_It's another mechanic stripper! No, it's Lucas." Brooke said as she looked over to Haley. _

"_Okay!" Nathan said while walking around the car, "guess we're off." _

_Haley clapped her hands together and walked toward Nathan between Lucas and his car, "Alright! Well, GO whoever they are!" She said with a big smile._

"_Bobcats, Haley..." Nathan said, almost sounding disappointed._

_She put her hands on his waist and looked him in the eyes. "Alright, well, I love bobcats! They're so cute!"_

_Nathan shook his head. "You're such a girl!"_

_Haley laughed, "I know." _

_Nathan leaned in and gave her a kiss. Lucas looked annoyed. "Can we go now?" he said, "You saw her, she's back, let's go!" Lucas finished as he walked to his car door._

"_Man, look, this is the first night we've spent apart since we got married," said Nathan, sadly. Haley smiled and leaned up to kiss him. _

"_Well, the girls are having a slumber party," Brooke stated._

"_Really?" Lucas asked and Brooke simply nodded._

"_Oh, that's cool. So you won't be alone tonight." Nathan said as Haley pulled away from him. _

"_Yep!" She said, plainly. _

"_What are you doin' 'til then?" Nathan asked her._

_Haley drew circles on his chest and thought about what she was about to say. She definitely did not want to tell him that she was going to be in a recording studio, alone, with Chris Keller. He would never leave to go to the game. Or worse, he would forbid her to do it and be angry with her for even considering it in the first place. But this was her dream, to write her own songs and to sing them herself. Just like basketball was Nathan's. Maybe he would understand that. But not today. Maybe not until Chris had worked with her enough to make her great. Then she could just show Nathan and it could be a surprise for him. Something that she could give him. For now, she wouldn't even speak of it. _

"_Uh," she blew out a mouthful of air. Taking a breath in she continued, "Probably just gonna hang out with Brooke." She looked over to her friend who simply stood there and looked back at her. Brooke couldn't believe that she was really standing there lying to her husband, to Nathan! "Right Brooke?" Haley asked._

_Brooke stared at her with knowing eyes, "Yeah! …..Just us girls." she said. _

Nope, she wasn't about to tell Lucas about what she had done. There was nothing to it from her side. The one and only thing that she was even excited about was the opportunity to get herself out there musically and hopefully accomplish her dream. It wasn't like she had feelings for Chris. But if that was the case, then why couldn't she tell Lucas? Oh this was just too much to handle right now.

"Alright, Haley. Wallow in your selfishness and your self pity. I'm going to check on my brother. When you're ready to think about someone other than yourself, maybe you should talk to him." Lucas said as he turned and started to walk away.

"Lucas!" Haley yelled out. Tears were streaming in a steady flow down her cheeks. "I'm... I'm sorry..." she said, barely above a whisper.

Lucas scoffed, "I'm not the one you need to be telling that to, Haley James-Scott." And with that, he left.

Haley buried her head in her hands. She was so in love with Nathan and she was terrified. She didn't know how to handle this situation. How was she supposed to tell him anything about Chris? How was she supposed to face him now? She had run out on him and she didn't know what state she would find him in when she could finally get back to the apartment. Haley wanted desperately to pick herself up, dust herself off and run back to the apartment to be there for her husband. She just couldn't seem to get started. He was sick but he was still Nathan, still the man she fell in love with, still the man who had changed everything for her and loved her no matter what. The least she could do was give him the same unconditional love in return. Lucas was right, she was being selfish. She had to talk to someone who already knew what she had done while Nathan was gone. Haley opened her cell phone and scrolled down her contact list. _Brooke... Anna... Peyton... Brooke can't keep a secret. Anna, well, I don't know her really and she might know about what happened, but she doesn't know our story and I don't wanna have to explain anything. That leaves Peyton... _Haley hit the green talk button on her phone and placed it to her ear, sniffling. **Ring...Ring...Ring...Ring...**

"What's up, Haley?" Peyton said, happily.

"Peyton... I need to talk to someone who knows everything already... I did something... something terrible... and I need to talk to you..."

_Today, I'll quit being selfish. Today, I'll show my husband that I meant it when I said Always and Forever. Today... I have to admit to what I did... I have to keep from breaking my husband's heart. And pray that he'll forgive me. Today... _


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Alright, so, since there's been one-two review(s) per last two chapters, I'm concerned about continuing. That's the biggest reason I've not sat down and written in a while. Another reason is that we've been moving into our new house and we have no internet yet because our service provider sucks. So tonight I'm going to sit here and write, finish the chapter and post it tomorrow when I can either go to mom's or get my internet working. I've noticed a few people favoriting this story, but the lack of reviews is really depressing. It makes it really hard to be motivated to write. A big thanks to Ghostwriter and BiggestOTHFan for their reviews. Hopefully this chapter will be good enough for review. Thanks for sticking with me and still reading!**

**Sidenote: I don't own anything.. **

**Chapter 6**

Lucas walked up the stairs to Nathan and Haley's apartment, fuming mad. He was sure that if it were possible, there would be smoke coming from his ears at the moment. Lucas couldn't believe that his best friend in the entire world was being so selfish. This wasn't like Haley. He thought there must have been something wrong. As he approached the door, he let out a heavy sigh. _This is about to be fun_, he thought. Lucas knocked on the door and waited for an answer. … Nothing. He knocked again.

Behind the closed door, Nathan was slowly coming to as Lucas knocked louder and louder still. "Come... in," Nathan slurred out. He was laying on the kitchen floor, empty bottle of booze in hand.

Lucas opened the door. "Nate? Where ya at, man?" he said. Walking around the bar, he saw Nathan laying in the floor. Lucas shook his head and half smiled, "There ya are, boozy. Alright, let's get you up now." He bent over and tried to help pick Nathan's upper body off the floor. Unfortunately, Nathan was nothing but dead weight. As Lucas strained to pull Nathan up to sit with his back against the cabinets, he noticed Nathan's tear stained cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Nate. I'm sorry."

Nathan shook his head slowly, "it's not your fault, Luke, it's mine. I shouldn't have told her. Not yet." Nathan began to cry again. "She ran out. Out the door, outta my life. She's just gone," he said with a thick voice.

"Nate, she met me at the RiverCourt. She's scared and worried. She doesn't know how to handle it," Lucas said. He might have been angry with Haley but he sure wasn't going to tell Nathan that. He wanted to stress the more positive aspects of his encounter with Haley and forget the selfishness of his best friend and sister-in-law. "She'll come back. She just needs time to digest it all," he tried to assure Nathan.

Nathan rolled his empty whiskey bottle across the floor to all the other empty bottles and pouted. "It's empty," he said. The only way he knew how to handle this was to not handle it. Alcohol was supposed to make him forget, but at this point, it was making things worse. Alcohol drowns sorrows, right? Wrong. All the vodka, the gin, the rum, the whiskey in the world couldn't make him forget any of this. Instead it just made him feel as though he were right to begin with, that he wasn't enough for Haley. _This is what I do to handle a problem? Who am I, Dan? _He wanted to stand up but standing wasn't a good idea. "Luke, I gotta sober up. What if she comes home and I'm like this? Then she'll know that I'm just as bad as she thinks. She'll know she deserves better and she'll leave for good. My heart can't take it, man. I can't do it," Nathan pleaded.

Lucas felt sorry for his little brother. He wanted to fix everything. He wanted to be the one who had this. But that wasn't the hand he was dealt. Lucas looked around for bread, crackers, anything dense enough to soak up some of the alcohol. He grabbed the loaf of bread that was sitting on the counter. Opening the package he said, "Alright, don't worry, we're gonna fix this. We'll get you sobered up and then we can talk." He handed him a piece of bread. "Here, eat this," Lucas said, "then we'll get you in a cold shower." Nathan simply nodded. "Hey, Nate?" Lucas said. Nathan looked up at him with a mouthful of bread and furrowed his brow. "I love you, little brother," Lucas stated. Nathan's face softened and his eyes threatened to tear again. Lucas sniffled. Nathan was so broken and there was nothing he could do to fix it. He just had to remember what Keith had told him. _"Be there for him, Lucas, whatever he needs," he had told me. That's what I'm going to do._ Lucas stretched out his arm for Nathan to take his hand. He struggled to get Nathan on his feet. Lucas draped Nathan's arm around his shoulders and supported him around his waist as he walked Nathan to the bathroom. Lucas turned on the cold water and looked at Nathan who was taking his shirt off. "I'm sorry, Nathan," he said.

"Me too, big brother. Me too." Nathan said softly.

Haley caught herself biting her lip again when she began to taste blood. She was way past nervous and she wasn't sure why. Peyton knew about her having been in the studio with Chris Keller. But she didn't know about Nathan's HCM or about her running out the door after she was told. After Lucas' reaction, Haley wasn't sure that she wanted to tell anyone else at all what had happened. But she felt that she had to talk to someone, she had to get it all out, everything she was feeling. She was terrified of losing Nathan, whether it was over Chris Keller, her lying or his HCM. HCM would be the worst thing to lose him to because that would mean that she didn't have a chance to get him back. But what if she told him about being in the studio with Chris and he knew that she lied, would he take her back then? Everything was running through her head at 90 miles an hour. She had almost forgotten that Peyton was sitting in front of her.

"Hales, come on, what's going on? You said you'd done something terrible, you've been crying and now you're bleeding. Stop biting your lip." Peyton said, trying to break through Haley's concentration. Peyton had pulled up at the RiverCourt to see Haley staring off into the water. She was sitting on the top bleacher, backwards, just staring into the river. Peyton thought that Nathan must have found out about Chris Keller somehow. She figured he had gotten upset and had either walked out or told Haley to leave. Boy, was she in for a shock.

Haley rubbed her lips together and then spoke, "I left. I ran. Out the door. Nathan told me something important and I took off like a scared little girl. He needed me to be there for him, to be strong for him and I wasn't. I couldn't be. I don't know how to be," Haley rambled as she started to sob.

Peyton wrapped an arm around Haley's shoulders. "Come 'ere," she said softly. "It's going to be okay."

Haley took in a deep breath. "No, Peyton, it's not. It's not okay. I don't see how it could ever be okay!" she cried.

Peyton furrowed her brow. She was getting concerned. Haley had always been somewhat of a worrier but this seemed pretty extreme. If she needed to be strong for Nathan, what had happened? _She said she needed to talk to someone who knew everything... but she needed to be strong for Nathan... That doesn't add up. At least, not to Nathan finding out about Chris. Did he cheat on her? No, that wouldn't make sense either. What the hell is going on?_ Peyton wouldn't let go of her hold on Haley as she spoke, "What could possibly be so bad that it's not going to work itself out? Haley, you and Nathan have this epic love story. Your life together is like an Air Supply song. Whatever it is, you can make it through it."

"He's sick, Peyton. And it's bad." Haley said as she pulled away from Peyton's embrace. She swallowed her tears and she looked Peyton in the eyes. "It's really bad."

Peyton's jaw dropped, her face became sullen. _People always leave. _

"He told me, he cried and I ran. Like some scared, selfish little girl. I don't want him to know about this past weekend. I was going to tell him, let him hear the song for himself, but I can't now. And if I don't, he's really going to think something's going on. Especially since I ran. I ran, Peyton, do you get that? I'm so ashamed of myself right now. I'm supposed to be Haley James-Scott, the strong one, and I ran scared when he needed me the most. My husband, the love of my life, my world, my heart, my everything, has HCM. He has a genetic heart disorder that could cost him his life; that WILL cost him the big parts of his life. And I ran when he said the words. What in the hell is wrong with me?" Haley rambled again, not sure whether she was talking more to herself or to Peyton.

"Suck it up, Haley. Talk to your husband. Tell him everything about Chris, about this weekend, about being in the studio alone with him, about how scared you are and how much you love him. Be his wife." Peyton said, dryly. She simply stared at the water. _Nathan._.. Her heart ached. They might not have worked well together, if she was honest with herself, they didn't work at all, but that didn't mean that she didn't still care for him. Peyton hopped off the bleachers and started to walk off the court. She turned and looked at Haley one last time. "Love him, Haley. Today could be the last chance you get."

Haley watched as Peyton walked away. "People always leave," she said softly to herself. That's what Peyton must have been thinking about. She turned around on the bleachers and saw the basketball she had tripped over earlier. She shook her head as thoughts of Nathan's HCM and the end of his potential basketball career began to creep into her mind. It was over before it got a chance to start. And here she sat, with the possibility of making it big music at her fingertips. Her dreams could come true in the blink of an eye and all she felt was sadness. Haley felt as if she would be selfish if she went any further with her music while her husband was losing his dream of playing in the NBA. She spent hours sitting on the bleachers contemplating her next move. Time slipped away from her and the sun was up. It was 8am. At this point, Haley could only think about the fact that Peyton was right, she had to talk to Nathan, tell him everything. She walked down the bleachers and stepped onto the court. She bent over and picked up the basketball, throwing it toward the goal. Missed. Of course, basketball wasn't her thing. She smiled as she remembered the first time Nathan ever tried to teach her how to shoot and how terrible she was at it. He'd made fun of her and she had laughed. _The good times aren't over, Haley. They're not. Go home._ With that, she walked off the court and headed for their apartment.

It had been a long night. Between both brothers they had slept a total of 5 hours. Lucas was worried about Nathan and Nathan was worried about Haley. Lucas checked his watch. It was 8am. Lucas and Nathan were sitting on the couch in silence. Neither of the brothers knew what to say to the other. Lucas felt like there was nothing more to say and Nathan felt as though he couldn't speak without crying. That was a terrible feeling for him. Crying was a sign of weakness and he didn't want to be weak.

"Ya know, it's still kinda early in the day, Nate. I could call and make you an appointment with a doctor. Maybe there's some sort of medicine to help with this." Lucas offered.

"You'd do that for me, man? You'd call?" Nathan said, furrowing his brow. He and his brother had never gotten along until recently and it just seemed shocking that Lucas cared this much. Today, alone, Lucas had done way more than Nathan had ever expected of him. Nathan appreciated it so much more than he thought he'd ever be able to explain.

"Yeah, little brother. Is there a certain one you want me to call?" Lucas asked.

"Who knows? I've never had to deal with anything like this. Just pick one, I guess. A cardiologist." Nathan shrugged.

Lucas reached over to the end table and opened the drawer. He pulled out a phone book and opened it to the yellow pages. Running his finger down the page, he mumbled, "Not... what... I'm... lookin'... Ah! Cardiologist, here we go. Dr. David McDaniel." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to dial the number. "Sounds like a good one, maybe." Lucas said. "Hey, uh, Nate? Do you want me to act like I'm you?" he asked.

"I guess so. I mean, you'd have to, right?" Nathan asked.

"I dunno," Lucas chuckled, "maybe I should make my voice all high and act like I'm Haley." He laughed as he thought about it. "Uh, yeah, I'm Nathan Scott's wife, Haley James-Scott!" Lucas said in a high-pitched voice and then laughed normally. Nathan laughed and threw a pillow at Lucas' head.

"Hey! Really no-..." Lucas was interrupted as a woman answered the phone.

"Dr. McDaniel's office. This is Kelly, how can I help you?" a woman said.

"Uh, yeah, hi, my name's Lucas Scott and I'm calling to schedule an appointment for my brother, Nathan Scott. He went to a hospital in Charlotte, NC that does free health screenings for student athletes and the results of his EKG showed that he has HCM. Man, that's a lot of initials. Anyway, he needs to follow up with a cardiologist." Lucas said, nervously. He wasn't quite sure how to go about this whole thing of making an appointment for his brother to hear what could or couldn't be done for his condition. Much less, making Nathan an appointment to hear that he's not going to be able to play basketball anymore.

Kelly answered, "Alright Mr. Scott, the next available appointment for a new patient is..." Lucas heard clacking sounds as Kelly's nails hit the keys on her keyboard. "..look like we can fit him in day after tomorrow. Yep, Thursday at 10:30am." Kelly said, finishing her thought. Lucas looked over to Nathan and mouthed the day and time. Nathan nodded his head as he took in a sharp, deep breath.

This was it. In less than 48 hours he would find out the extent of his fate. Now, if only he had his wife by his side. Lucas moved the receiver back to his mouth and said,

"10:30 Thursday works great! Thanks so much, Kelly! We'll see you then! … Alright, bye." Lucas said as he hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. He shifted in his seat and looked at Nathan with a somewhat worried expression. "So, are you really ready for this?" he asked.

Nathan looked at him as if he were stupid. "Really, big brother? Is it possible to ever be ready for something like this?" Nathan asked.

Lucas said, "Probably not, but it never hurts to try. Do you know what kinda questions you wanna ask? Ya know, about HCM and what you can do to help... manage it... I guess..?"

"Yeah," Nathan stated, "I've got somewhat of an idea. I dunno though. Maybe I should be all organized like Haley is and make a list." Nathan and Lucas both chuckled but Nathan was immediately saddened. He missed his wife and he didn't understand why she wasn't here with him right now. He was probably more scared than she was about this whole thing and she's the one that got to take off? It didn't seem fair. But just as fast as the thought went through his head, everything changed. The door knob turned and the door slowly opened. Lucas and Nathan both turned their attention to the figure standing in the doorway.

She was scared and she didn't know what to say. She stayed quiet. Taking a few steps forward, she closed the door behind her. She noticed that she was shaking. Why was she scared to come into her own house? _Probably because I'm the idiot that took off running out the door when I was told that my husband was sick. And I spent the entire night wallowing in my self-pity and bouncing back and forth on how I feel. Yep, grade A idiot._

"Haley..." Nathan said, barely above a whisper.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow! Thanks everyone for all the reviews! When I opened my inbox and saw all of them, it made me want to come home to get on the computer and start writing! I never realized just how much of an impact reviews have on a person until they stopped... Again, I really appreciate you, the readers, taking time to review. Even if all you do is say, "Please write more!" ((hehe!)) It really does help motivate! Now, on to the next chapter of Nathan Scott, HCM. What is Haley going to do? Will she tell Nathan everything or will she wait? Will Nathan accept her back after she ran out or will he be too angry to even talk to her? Hmmm... Guess you'll have to read and find out! Don't forget to review! Thanks! Oh! And P.S., I don't own anything!**

**Chapter 7**

She stood with her back against the door, frozen. Everything in her body told her to open the door and run. Everything but her heart. Her heart told her to stay and face this head on. Her knees shook as she began to wring her hands. He was staring at her. "_Haley….."_ his voice echoed in her thoughts. It made it feel crazy to just stand there and not say a word, but she couldn't force herself to say anything at all. She wanted to run to the couch and throw her arms around Nathan's neck and tell him how sorry she was and how much she loved him. But her feet were planted firmly on the ground. She'd never been so terrified of her husband before. The thought of what he might possibly say to her now that she was back... it scared the shit out of her. She needed to talk to him, tell him about Chris Keller and the song and the studio time she spent with him instead of hanging out with Brooke. She opened her mouth to speak but there was nothing but silence. Haley looked at Nathan with desperation in her eyes.

What the hell was she doing coming back to the apartment? Was she serious? She ran out on him. She was gone all night long without as much as a text message just to let him know that she was okay. Not one word. He worried half the night that she was hurt or dead or was just leaving him. He was angry. No, beyond angry. He was livid. How could she be so selfish? He needed her. And this was not the Haley James-Scott that he knew and had fallen in love with. Not at all. He could feel his blood pumping hard through his veins and in that moment, he noticed that his heart was racing. He started to feel pain in his chest. _Don't show it, Nate, you're fine. They'll freak out... at least, Lucas will. Does she even care anymore? Think about something else, man, you're killin yourself here. _He tried to think about anything other than Haley. Basketball would just make him depressed and he didn't want a repeat of last night or she would just take off again. _Everything leads back to her..._ and that thought led to when he first fell in love with her.. and the night that she played the piano and sang for him.. and the day on the beach when they said always and forever.. and every single good memory he had of her. It felt like his heart was breaking.

Before Nathan or Haley could get any words out, Lucas stood up and looked at Haley with a look she had never seen before. It was almost as if he was disgusted by her very presence. This was his best friend standing here looking as though she'd been awake all night long, worrying herself to death. And he felt no sympathy for her. None whatsoever. He had spent the night, barely sleeping, constantly checking on his heart broken brother. He had been there for Nate while she took off. Lucas cleared his throat. "Can I help you?" he asked Haley.

Haley shuffled her feet. She hung her head as low as it could go. She felt about two inches tall. Taking in a deep breath she looked up as she spoke, "Lucas, I'm sor-.."

"I told you last night, it's not me you need to be saying that to. Save your apologies for someone who'll listen." he interrupted.

Haley's eyes met Lucas'. She wasn't surprised that he was still upset with her. But he was supposed to be her best friend. _What happened to that Luke?_ Not that she deserved it at the moment. And she had no idea what happened there last night, what state that Lucas had found Nathan in.

Nathan stood up from his place on the couch. "Luke," he said, "it's alright man. Just let us talk, everything'll be okay, remember?" Nathan looked at his brother with pleading eyes.

Lucas hugged his brother and said, "I love you..." Pushing past Haley, he walked out the door, turning just before he closed it, "...call me when I need to come pick up the pieces again." And with that, he was gone.

Haley and Nathan stood in silence for a few minutes before either of them worked up the courage to speak. When they finally did, they spoke in unison.

"I'm sorry," they both said.

Haley gave Nathan a puzzled look. "YOU'RE sorry? What the hell could you possibly have to be sorry about, Nathan?" Tears began to fall from her eyes. "I ran out the door when you needed me. I was selfish and terrible, a horrible wife. You have nothing to be sorry for," she said.

Nathan shook his head. She was right, she had been selfish and terrible. But as mad as he still was at her, he would never think that she was a horrible wife.

"Haley, I'm sorry... because I just can't talk to you yet," he said as his anger grew. "You don't have ANY idea what you put me through last night! You can't just walk back in here and think that everything's gunna be okay! I don't know who that was that ran out of our apartment last night, but it wasn't the woman I married. If it was, then I don't know who you are anymore. I just... I can't... I gotta go."

And just that fast, he was out the door and running down the steps. He didn't know where he was going but wherever it was, it would be away from here, away from her, away from the pain. Right now, he didn't think his heart could take it. He had just spent a terrible night away from his wife and he missed her so much. He loved Haley, always and forever, no matter what. But that didn't mean that he had to like her actions.. and right now, he hated the person that she had been the night before. Right now, all he wanted was to think. He would talk to her later, he had reasoned with himself, and make things right. Later wasn't right now. She walked in the door like nothing had happened, like she could just waltz right back in and everything would be fine. Like Nathan would just welcome her with open arms. Not yet.

Haley stood in shock, silent tears flowing down her cheeks. Here she was again, not knowing what to do, not knowing who to call, not wanting to talk to anyone but her husband. Should she go after him? He said he didn't want to talk to her so if she went after him would he run from her? She knew Nathan didn't like conflict, not like she did either, but she wanted to get everything off her chest and be by her husband's side. She was determined. She pulled herself together and opened the door. She would go after him. She couldn't let this go any more.

Lucas had wandered his way to the RiverCourt. As he walked up, he saw Peyton sitting on the top row of the bleachers. She was drawing, imagine that, and Lucas noticed that she looked especially beautiful today. _Wow, did I really just... I did... She's gorgeous, there's no denying it. _She had her legs stretched out in front of her. She wore skinny jeans, converse and a band t-shirt, typical Peyton. That curly hair, a tangled mess on top of her head. Yeah, beautiful didn't describe her properly in his eyes.

"Hey Peyt! Whatcha drawin?" Lucas asked her.

Peyton jumped, "Oh my God, Lucas, can you not let someone know you're coming? Jesus!"

Lucas laughed, "Sorry.. I didn't mean to scare you." He looked down at her sketch book and said, "what ARE you drawin'?"

Peyton had her head down and pencil to paper. She stopped shading in the music note for a moment and looked at Lucas. She cocked her head to the side and said, "They're song lyrics."

"_...You're aching, you're breaking, and I can see the pain in your eyes says Everybody's Changing and I don't know why..."_ Lucas read. "Keane?"

Peyton nodded. "So how's Nathan?" she asked.

"He's okay. Or he was until _Haley_ came walking in the door like nothing had happened." he said with clenched teeth as he spoke Haley's name.

"Ya know, she called me last night. Wanted to talk. I told her she needed to talk to her husband and work it out. It's my fault she went back home." Peyton admitted.

"Peyt, she didn't come home until this morning. She was gone all night and never said a word." Lucas told her.

Peyton shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know what's gotten into her, Luke. The hiding things, the running out on Nathan... She's just not the Haley she used to be."

"Hiding things? Wait, what's she hiding?"

_Shit! Peyton, you idiot! Open mouth, insert foot. Dammit..._ Peyton's eyes widened. How was she going to recover from this one?

Nathan hadn't made it to the street corner before Haley was on his heels. He looked over his shoulder and saw her running toward him. Breathlessly, she called out to him, "Nathan! Baby, wait! Please!"

He stopped and turned on his heel. His eyes met hers as she slowed to a stop directly in front of him. "What do you want, Haley? I told you already, I can't talk to y-.."

"I was in the studio with Chris Keller, doing a demo, while you were in Charlotte!" she blurted out. "He said he had connections and could get me a real shot and I went for it. I went to the sleepover, but not until I had worked with Chris on the song. I should have told you, Nathan. I knew that was what I was doing before you left. When I told you that I was hanging out with Brooke, I lied and I'm so sorry. I feel horrible," she rambled.

Nathan couldn't take it anymore. He lifted his hand up as if to tell her to stop talking. "Haley... you lied to me?" he asked with pain in his voice.

Haley was sobbing at this point. "Nathan, I'm so sorry. When you came home last night, I was going to tell you. Then you told me that you were sick. And I.. I.. I don't know where my head went. Nathan, I'm sorry. I never should have taken off like that. Then I talked to Peyton about it an-.."

He interrupted her again and exclaimed, "Peyton knows too? Wait, she knew about Chris before I did... of course she did." He was getting angrier by the second. "Thank you, Haley. Look, I can't do this right now. I told you already, I'm can't talk to you yet. In fact, I think I'm gunna go stay with Lucas for a few nights. How bout you call Peyton and tell her all about this now too..." He was pissed and hurt and every single possible negative emotion you could feel in your entire lifetime. All he knew was that he didn't want to see his wife's face right now.

As Nathan walked away from her, she fell to her knees. Through sobs she said, "I'm sorry, Nathan... Always and Forever..."

**A/N: So, I know, it's not as long as it should be, but I'm dying to get it posted... and I wanted to end this way so that it opens it up for next chapter and a little Brooke-i-fying... and some more light Leyton... and plenty more angsty Nathan... who has a dr's appointment coming up... dun dun dun... Lyrics are from "Everybody's Changing" by Keane... annnnd... Don't forget to review! It's okay if it's a "this sucks" review.. lol. No worries... Naley will be mended eventually... there's plenty to come... Thanks everybody!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So! Here we are... chapter 8 time! I just want all of you to know that college algebra is kicking my ass... so if I'm a little slow on updating or answering any questions, that's why. Thankfully, Algebra will be over in two weeks.. ((gotta love 5 week long classes...)) Now, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I'm excited to get started on this chapter.. hopefully you're all prepared for what's about to happen... I mean, come one, ya knew it would happen sometime... angsty Nathan needs a little fuel... ooooo, spoiler? hmm, read to find out! Chapter 8, here we come!**

**Chapter 8**

He was pretty sure that he was never going to sleep again as he tossed and turned on the hardwood floor in his brother's room.

"Luke? You awake?" Nathan said, somewhat quietly.

Lucas stirred, rolling over to his side, "Mmm... yeah, Nate. Why are you?" He raised up to look at his alarm clock. "Dude, it's 4:45... in the morning... We've barely slept. How are you coherent?"

"I know, I'm sorry... it's okay, just go back to sleep." he said as he turned to lay on his back. He was becoming all too familiar with Lucas' ceiling and he decided it could really use some Peyton-inspired design to make it less boring. He was still stewing in his anger at Haley. He couldn't believe that she had made him look like such a fool. She lied to his face, went behind his back and then told someone else about it all before he ever knew.

_What the hell am I gonna do? I can't take this floor much longer. Mom and Dad still have my bed in my room. I could go back there. _

But he still held out hope that he could make things right with Haley. Dan and Deb would try their best to keep him from doing so if he returned to them. He just needed some time to cool down. And a good night's sleep. He most definitely was not going to get that here. He needed to go somewhere and think. Lucas had helped him so much when he had gotten there earlier. They had talked about the whole situation. Lucas even divulged that Peyton had slipped up at the RiverCourt and told him what Haley had done.

"_What do you mean, 'hiding things,' Peyton? What's she hiding?" Lucas asked._

"_Well... Luke, I swore I wouldn't say anything. Leave it to me to open my big mouth..." Peyton trailed off._

_Lucas looked irritated. Not something Peyton had wanted to see, especially not directed at her. Even though Lucas' irritation was clearly aimed at the petite brunette who was his best friend. Regardless, mad Lucas equaled not a fun time._

"_I don't really care what you swore to _her_, she doesn't stick to her promises.. always and forever, it's a load of bullshit in her eyes right now obviously." Lucas said, getting angrier the more he thought about his brother laying in the floor, drunk and depressed. _

_Peyton bit her lip. She tried to hold it in but as soon as she opened her mouth to take in a breath, the words flowed. "She lied, Luke.. She told Nathan before you two left that she was going to hang out with Brooke until the sleepover. She knew what she was doing. She didn't want Nathan to tell her not to hang out with that leech, Chris Keller. But she looked at it like he had the connections she needed. She went to the studio to start working on recording a song with him. She was at the studio with Chris Keller, by herself, while her husband was on his way with you to Charlotte." _

_She paused for a moment and took in the look on Lucas' face. It was as though he was enraged by the news, but hurt at the same time. He looked as though he was about to cry. Peyton didn't want to go on but Lucas threw up a hand and asked, "That all?"_

_Peyton continued, "She was only supposed to be gone for a little while, a couple hours maybe, and it was pretty late by the time she got to the apartment. A few hours after she was supposed to be there. I'm not the only one that knows, Luke. Anna and Brooke, they know too. It all kinda came out when we got into it. Brooke knew before anyone though since she was with Haley when you guys left. Chris came on to her at the studio. As far as I know, she just let it slide. But, she was there with him alone. The thing I can't get over was that she tried to hide it from all of us and she lied to Nathan." She shook her head, trying to get past her own anger._

_Lucas sat down on one of the bleacher rows and put his head in his hands. "So everyone knows..."_

_Peyton shook her head no, "Not everyone. I mean, Nathan still doesn't know, not unless she took my advice and came clean. That's part of the reason she took off, I think. Maybe the thought of having to tell him after hearing that he was sick scared her." She shrugged, "maybe she thought that he would leave her..?" _

"_Peyt... thanks for telling me the truth. I can always count on you to be honest." he said, resting his hand on her knee._

_She wasn't sure where that came from, or why he was thanking her, but she didn't mind him touching her. It sent a sort of shock of electricity through her body. She sighed to herself. It was Lucas. She'd always love him. And seeing him upset, made her heart ache. _

_She tilted her head to the side and said, barely above a whisper, "You're welcome."_

It wasn't Chris Keller that had him so angry, it was that everyone BUT him knew before he did. That no one told him until now. That she lied to his face. That she ran out on him. That she cried and told him that she was sorry. Yep, even that pissed him off. He had to get out of this house. He hopped up off the floor and threw on a hoodie. Stepping into his shoes as he walked toward the door, he grabbed a basketball out of Lucas' floor. He'd return it tomorrow, well, later on today. Right now he just needed some air.

**Meanwhile...**

Haley was so exhausted from crying and having been up all night long. She had fallen into the couch and covered up with a blanket. She didn't even bother to turn the overhead light off or the tv on. She just wanted to sleep. She thought that this must all be a nightmare and if she went to sleep, she'd wake up and have a chance to start Saturday all over again. If she could only take back the lie she told...

As she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed that Nathan was there with her. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed, smiling. She slept soundly for a few hours, not waking once. Until her fluffy, happy dream was broken by visions of an angry Nathan Scott. The hurtful things he should have said to her, the things he did say. It was terrifying. He yelled, he screamed. Haley fought to wake up but there was no use, she couldn't pull herself to consciousness. After what felt like hours of fighting it, dream Nathan told her it was over for good and as he walked off, she awoke. Haley laid on the couch and sobbed heavily. She hoped and prayed that dreams really didn't come true.

Nathan decided that the RiverCourt would hit him too close to the heart right now and it wouldn't be a good idea to play basketball there. He dribbled Lucas' ball as he walked down the sidewalk toward the large mansion-like house owned by his father. That was probably the last place he really needed to be going if he ever wanted to reconcile with Haley. At the moment though, reconciliation was the furthest thing from his mind.

So there he was, walking up the driveway of his parents' house. This would be it. There would be no going back from here. He had to tell them everything. About Haley, about the fight... about his HCM. Shit was about to hit the fan. He could already see it coming. Deb would drown her sorrow in pills and booze and Dan... he'd be angry... and his first thoughts would be of basketball. If Nathan had someone to bet against him, he'd put $100 on Dan saying, "You have HCM... Did they say if you can still play basketball? You know, basketball's an important part of your life. It's your whole life." But he didn't much figure anyone would be dumb enough to take his bet.

Nathan knocked on the door and waited. His anger had calmed and was now replaced with utter fear. He didn't want to hurt his mom and he didn't want to make his dad angry. He needed support right now. This most likely was NOT the place to come looking for it but maybe he was looking for something else to hurt him. Maybe he wanted the unexpected hurt and pain that Haley had caused him to be replaced by someone he expected it from.

Opening the door, Deb gasped,"Nathan!" She hugged him, "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

He hugged her back, "it's good to see you too, Mom. Where's Dad?"

"He's at the dealership. You wanna come inside?" she said, with a worried expression. _It's not like Nathan to just show up on the doorstep, no phone call, no notice, nothing. Something must be going on. Maybe him and Haley got into a fight. Oh, my poor son, I knew this would happen. I tried to warn him..._

She opened the door wider as Nathan nodded and began walking across the threshold. She noticed that he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Something was definitely bothering him and, as a mother, she was about to find out what.

Back at the apartment, Haley had cried herself to sleep. She had kicked off her blanket and was curled in the fetal position when Brooke walked through the door. Peyton had called and filled her in on the gory details of the last couple of days and Brooke felt as though it was her duty to check on Haley. Peyton had told it to Haley straight and while Brooke would to, she would do it in a very Brooke-ish way that wouldn't leave Haley a teary mess on the floor.

"Tutor Girlllll," Brooke sang to Haley. _Poor girl, she looks so broken._ "Wakey wakey! You know you want to see my sexy face!"

Haley stirred but only barely.

Brooke leaned over Haley's face and yelled in her ear, "UP AND AT 'EM, TUTOR GIRL!"

Haley liked to jump out of her skin. In fact, she was so scared that she fell off the couch, slamming her hand onto the coffee table and nearly knocking over every glass and can that was sitting on it. "JESUS, Brooke!" she yelled. "Give someone a heart attack! Damn!" Haley said, breathlessly.

"Well, excuse me, miss sleeps-like-a-rock... I tried to wake you up nicely but noooo... You forced me to resort to my cheerleader voice!" Brooke said.

Haley shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. She thought she must look like a complete wreck. _She must not know anything's going on, she seems too happy to know how serious the situation is._ "Well, I'm definitely awake now." Haley said out loud.

"Good!" Brooke said, "because we have lots to do.." she looked around the room, noticing the mess. "Hurricane Naley? Really, Hales? I hope it was good at least..."

Haley stood perfectly still and if looks could kill, Brooke would be dead right about now.

"Anyway! So, P. Sawyer filled me in... don't be mad. She was afraid she might have come down a little hard on you and thought you might need some B. Davis in your life!" She looked around the room again, "and I think your apartment needs my maid."

Haley couldn't help but smile. Even though she had been terrible to her husband and everyone else had come down on her, she could always count on Brooke's bubbly personality to help her through.

"Thanks, Brooke.. I mean it," she said as she hugged Brooke. She turned to look at the apartment and saw the empty bottles of booze in the trash can. _Oh Nathan, I'm such an idiot..._

"Alright," a teary eyed Brooke said, "let's hop to it, Tutor Girl! This place is SO not gunna clean itself."

Haley took the sink and Brooke took the counter. Haley was lost in her thoughts as she scrubbed the dishes. She wished that like the food on the dishes, she could wash away what had happened with Nathan. She wanted to go back and fix everything, do it all over and be the wife that she used to be before the idea of pursuing a music career was ever mentioned. She decided that as soon as she was done cleaning the apartment, she would call Chris and tell him it was all off. She wouldn't lose her husband to something like this. It just wasn't worth it.

Brooke interrupted Haley's thoughts when she asked, "Haley? What exactly happened? I mean, Peyton told me the story that Lucas told her but I really hate he said/she said bullshit because usually only half of it is what actually happened."

Haley stopped Brooke's rambling when she said, "I ran."

Brooke stopped scrubbing the counter and looked at her. Haley knew what was coming. She was about to lay into her just like Lucas had and Peyton and everyone else. She had beat herself up over it enough and she really didn't want to hear any more.

"He told me that he had HCM and I took off out the door," she continued. "I was scared and I didn't know what to do. You know Chris Keller had asked me to come to the studio that day they went to the game. And you know I lied to Nathan and told him that I was hanging out with you. You were standing there when I did it. After he told me he was sick, I felt terrible for lying and I just wanted to get away from it. I don't like confrontations. I know, I should have stayed and talked to him and been there for him and been supportive. I know. And if I could take it all back, I would, Brooke. I'd give anything to take it back, to fix it." She dropped her rag in the sink and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I tried to talk to him and he doesn't want to be anywhere near me. And I understand that. But it still hurts. I know I hurt him, but I would have thought that he would at least give me a chance to apologize, to explain. And now I don't know where he is and everyone hates me and I'm just so so sorry," she sobbed.

Brooke just walked over to her and held her as she cried. "Oh Tutor Girl, I'm so sorry. We'll figure out a way to fix it. We just have to try. Nothing can break Naley," she said with a half smile.

"_Nothing can break Naley." I so hope that's true... Always and Forever, Nathan... I swear, I'm gunna fix this..._

**A/N: Sooooo... whatcha think? Please review... we'll get Deb's take on this whole ordeal in chapter 9... it can only get more interesting from here...**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Omg... I'm so beyond excited to get this out! I said by Monday... and here it is... 1:43am Monday morning. Yay! Thanks to EVERYONE for the wonderful reviews. I know you're all ready to see Haley and Nathan back together.. I'm getting there, I promise. There's just some other things that needed to happen first... Chapter 10 might bring some pretty great things... but I can assure that this chapter, chapter 9, will bring about some amazing changes! Excited yet? I AM! ((Sidenote-Algebra's over. Lol. This should explain why I've already got the ninth chapter out!)) **

**Read and Review! ((All forms of review are welcomed!)) **

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**Andddd... I don't own ANYTHING!**

**Chapter 9**

"So what brings you here so early in the morning and without Haley in tow?" Deb asked.

Nathan looked at the floor. He didn't know what to say. _Well Mom, my wife not only lied to me but ran out on me when I told her I was sick. Oh and by the way, I have HCM, the same heart condition that Dad has. This means no more basketball for me! Or at least, I don't think so. I'll find out tomorrow when I go to the doctor, quite possibly alone since my wife is still wrapped up in her guilt and I'm still insanely pissed at her. _

Nathan shrugged, "I dunno, Mom, guess I just missed you."

Deb smiled and turned her head to the side. Squinting her eyes a bit she said, "I've missed you, Nathan, but something's wrong. You would be on my doorstep at 7am if everything was fine and you just missed me. What is it? You can tell me."

Deb had become a different person since Nathan had married Haley. She was so opposed to the idea of the two of them marrying, since she and Dan had married so young and that had turned out ever so blissfully well. Hah! She was terrified that Nathan would end up in the same situation. But because she opposed the two of them so much, Nathan rarely came around. This caused her to wallow in self-pity for a while and soothe her pain with booze and pills. But then Nathan for sure didn't want anything to do with her and refused to even speak at all to her. She realized that she needed her son more than the booze and pills. Within the last few weeks, she had poured all the alcohol in the house (Dan wasn't too happy about this) down the drain. She had flushed all the pills of any kind down the toilet. Deb had cleaned herself and her life up, she just hadn't had the chance to tell Nathan yet. And with the way that he looked when she had opened the door, she figured that now wasn't the time to talk about it but rather to simply show him.

Nathan shifted uncomfortably. "Ya know, I just really need some sleep.. Can I maybe crash here for a couple hours and then we can talk?"

Deb simply nodded and led Nathan upstairs to his old room. She opened the door. "I didn't move or change anything. Your Dad left for the dealership a little while ago and I doubt he'll be home for lunch. Want me to have you some lunch ready in a bit?" she asked.

"Sure Mom. Sounds good," he said as he fell into his bed. _Oh my God, a real bed. Not a floor, not a couch, a bed... I'm gunna be passed out til dinner, screw lunch._ "Thanks," he told her as she was walking out the door.

"You're welcome, son. I love you." And with that she closed the door. She was worried. She stood outside the door and heard him sniffling as he tossed and turned for a minute or so. Then she heard nothing. She sighed. _Oh Nathan, please be okay._

**Meanwhile...**

Haley and Brooke sat on the couch admiring their hard work and sipping some ice water. They had cleaned the entire apartment without noticing how fast the time was going by. Haley knew that organizing when she was mad always made her feel better but she didn't realize that it worked when she was depressed too, at least, not until now. She and Brooke had blared Sum 41 and a little Buffseeds. They weren't even paying attention to the time or anything that had happened over the course of the last few days. All that mattered was here and now.

"So now that EVERYTHING in this place is clean and organized by your OCD-havin' self, what are we gunna do to cheer you up, Haley? Do you need to talk about this? Do you wanna avoid it for a little bit? Cuz I mean, if you do, that's totally okay. We can talk about anything you want to." Brooke said. She was starting to get really bad about with this rambling thing. Maybe she'd been spending too much time with Haley.

"What do I say to him, Brooke? I tried already to apologize. I want to be there for him. I don't even know if he's made an appointment to get a second opinion. I don't know anything. I didn't give him a chance to tell me more and he didn't give me a chance to ask afterward." Haley said.

Brooke looked to the ceiling for a moment and then to Haley. "Well, since Lucas was here for so long, why don't you call him and ask him if Hotshot was thinking ahead and made himself an appointment." Brooke suggested.

Haley's eyes widened. "Me calling Lucas is NOT a good idea. Did I not tell you how much he hates me right now? I made Nathan turn to a bottle of liquor because I was such a terrible wife. His brother isn't going to jump at the chance to come to me with open arms and tell me anything," she said.

"Okay then, I'll call him from my phone and ask him and we just won't mention your name. You'll be in-con-spicious... or whatever it is where you're kind of in hiding." Brooke stated.

"Inconspicuous," Haley chuckled, "thanks, B. Davis."

"Anything for you, TutorGirl!" She said as she scrolled down her contacts list to Lucas. She put the phone to her ear and waited for him to answer.

"_Hello?" _he answered.

"Luke! Hey!" Brooke said, bubbly personality spilling from her voice.

"_Hey Brooke. What's up?"_ Lucas asked.

"Ooohhh, nothing... Getting ready to go shopping." she answered as she looked down at her red cami and white short jean shorts. _I really DO need to go shopping!_

Lucas laughed. _"Imagine that. Did you need a shopping partner? Peyton must be busy or she just refuses to go." _

"Ha, ha, ha... Laugh it up, mister. P. Sawyer never refuses to go shopping with me... On a Wednesday." Brooke said, sidetracked from the real reason she called.

"_Oh, my bad, Wednesday must be the opportune day for shopping the 5% off sales at the most high end stores between here and Charlotte." _he laughed again.

"Okay, Okay... I get it.. I have a shopping problem. I need a 12-step program! I get this. But at least I'm not denying it!" she cleared her throat. "Anyway! Speaking of Charlotte... I heard about Nathan. He has HCM. Is he okay?" Brooke looked to Haley who had her head in her hands and was trying as best as she could to cover up the fact that she had been laughing as quietly as possible.. at least up until Brooke mentioned Nathan and Charlotte in the same sentence. At that point, her head stayed in her hands but her quiet laughing had stopped and she began to sniffle. Brooke placed a gentle hand on Haley's back as Lucas answered her question.

"_He will be, I think. He's really upset about it all. I wish I had it, really, and not him. He's mad at Haley for taking off. Did you hear about that one? I'm still pissed." _Lucas said, with disdain toward the end.

"Yeah, I heard. But she's pretty broken up about what she did too. I think they really just need to sit and talk about it. They'll be able to work things out, I mean, come on, Luke. They're Naley!" Brooke assured him.

"_Well, I hope they can. But enough about Haley. Nathan's going to a cardiologist here in town tomorrow so I guess we'll see what they say then. Hopefully there's some sort of medication he can try." _Lucas said.

"How'd he find a cardiologist?" Brooke asked.

Lucas laughed as he remembered. _"I grabbed and phone book and opened it and the first one I saw, I called. He goes in at 10:30 in the morning. David McDaniel is his name," he said._

Brooke smiled. She loved the fact that Lucas just poured out all he knew. All she had to do was ask a couple questions. _Oh Lucas... Thank you. You have no idea what you just did!_ "David McDaniel, huh?Sounds like a leprechaun!" she laughed.

Haley's head popped up at the name. She knew Brooke had gotten all the information that she needed. She motioned for Brooke to end the conversation so they could plan the reconciliation process.

Lucas laughed at Brooke's analogy of the doctor. _"Yeah, Brooke... he's a leprechaun," he laughed again. "Anyway, we'll know something tomorrow and I'll call you and let you know. Or you could come hang out with us. I'm sure Nate could use your bubbly personality to make him feel better, B. Davis!"_

Brooke nodded, as if Lucas could see her, "I will! Just call me! Thanks for lettin' me know, Lucas! And if you talk to Nate, tell him I love him! See y'all tomorrow! I'm going shoppppppinngggg!" she said, excitedly.

Hanging up the phone she turned to Haley, "10:30 tomorrow morning with Dr. McDaniel! Now, to figure out where his office is. Where's your phone book?" Brooke asked. She was so excited that she had gotten the information that she couldn't hardly sit still.

Haley had the biggest smile on her face as she said, "drawer in the end table! Oh Brooke!" She nearly tackled Brooke as she hugged her. "I can always always count on you! I love you, B. Davis!"

Brooke hugged Haley back, "I love you too, Haley but enough love for now, let's find out where your hubby's going to be tomorrow morning! And then let's go shopping, for real, cuz talkin to Lucas about it made me want to! And you HAVE to come with me!"

Haley laughed. "I'm so in! But can we get some lunch first? I'm starving!"

**Hours later...**

Nathan sleepily walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He had awoken to the smell of food. He wasn't sure what kind of food but he knew it smelled good. He walked around the corner to see his Mom standing in front of the stove, smoke pouring from a large skillet.

"What smells so good, Mom?" he asked.

"Um, stirfry.. and no, before you say anything, it's not from the Chinese restaurant down the street and I'm not just heating it up. I made it all by myself, thank you very much!" she said, smiling.

Nathan laughed and shook his head. "I wasn't even gunna say that!" he protested.

"Well, just in case you were thinking it!" she laughed.

Nathan sat down on a bar stool and looked at the oven clock. "Holy shit! It's really 3:30? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Nathan, you showed up on my doorstep looking like you hadn't slept in weeks. I tried to wake you up at noon, but you wouldn't budge. I felt like you must need to rest or you would have woken up. So I let you sleep, assuming you would wake up on your own. And you did!" she answered. "Ready to tell me what's going on yet?" she said as she looked over her shoulder to see Nathan's eyes.

He immediately looked down at the counter top. He still wasn't ready to have this conversation with his Mom. "When's Dad supposed to be home?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "Who knows. Probably not til later. Which is why I only made enough stirfry for the two of us." _Really, I don't give a rat's ass if your father eats dinner or not. He can fend for himself..._

Nathan was scared to say anything at all. He really didn't want his mom to drink herself into oblivion or pop enough pills to overdose. He had no idea what she had been doing lately and didn't know that she was sober. All he knew was that if he told her everything, she would have so many emotions going through her all at once that she would most likely drive herself crazy. "Mom, I'm really afraid to tell you what's going on. I don't want you getting upset. I just needed some time to cool off and to think things through." he finally said.

"Nathan, I'm a grown woman, I can handle it. If I can handle your father on a daily basis, I can certainly handle whatever it is that has you not sleeping at night. I'm not the same person that I was a month ago." She sighed. Turning off the stove, she walked over to the bar and placed her hand over Nathan's. He looked up at her and she noticed his brow furrowed. "Nathan, I'm sober. You, my son, are much more important to me than drugs and booze. It took me a while but I know now that I have to stay this way if I want anything to do with my son at all." Tears rolled slowly down her cheeks as she continued, "I love you, Nathan, and I want to be here for you. Please, son, talk to me. Tell me what's going on. I won't judge, I won't say I told you so if it pertains to Haley, I'll just listen."

Nathan looked her in the eyes and though he believed her, he was still unsure about it. _Oh you'll say I told you so and I'll deserve it. I just don't wanna give up on Hales yet... _Nathan sighed heavily. _Here goes nothing..._

"Haley and I got into a fight. Sort of. Well, we did. But not until after I told her something." He hung his head as he spoke, "Mom, I have to tell you something and you have to promise me that you're not going to flip out or cry or scream or anything like that.. I've done enough of all that for the both of us plus Dad. And you gotta know that I'm already working on it." He looked up at her.

Deb's heart dropped to her stomach. What was he about to tell her? She nodded her head for him to go on.

"I have what Dad has. I have HCM." he said, dryly.

Deb's eyes welled with tears, threatening to pour down her face. She took in a deep breath. "Honey... I'm so... sorry. Are you okay? When did you find out?" she asked.

"I'm better now.." he started. "Lucas and I went to that Bobcats game in Charlotte and I didn't know it but there's a clinic there that does free athletic screenings once a month. Lucas scheduled us appointments. He wanted both of us to get tested." He scoffed. "Well, he got freaked and took off. Course, that wasn't until I was hooked up to the shit. Sorry, Mom." Deb just closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. Nathan continued, "Anyway, they tested me and called Monday morning with the results. I really broke down."

He told Deb about talking to Keith and how supportive Lucas was. Deb's heart swelled with pride when he spoke so highly of Lucas. Nathan had overcome Dan's influence and truly bonded with his half-brother. That made her feel amazing. She had been genuinely worried about Nathan becoming his father made over but now she was seeing just how different he was. Nathan was truly a good person and it hurt her to know that he would have to live with HCM for the rest of his life. Then Nathan got into the fight that he had with Haley.

"And I know she's just scared, but it really bothers me that after I tell her something so important, she chooses to run away from the problem. Haley's always had her head on so much straighter than I have. Hell, she's the reason I'm the man I am today. Not that you didn't do a good job, Mom." he said, quickly.

"No, Nathan, I didn't. I didn't do right by you at all. Haley has definitely had a huge influence on you. But I honestly think that you were this person deep down already. She just gave you the strength to bring it to the surface. I love her for that." Deb said, smiling.

"Really?" Nathan was taken aback. He'd NEVER heard his mother speak highly of his wife. Ever. She always talked about Haley as if she were Satan in the flesh.

"Yes, really. I don't hate Haley, son. I've just been scared for you. I don't want you to be in the same position that I am; in an unhappy marriage and saddled to him until he finally lets me go." she said.

Nathan agreed. As he continued with the story of what happened between him and Haley, he explained the lying and Deb was shocked. Honestly shocked. Nathan wasn't sure what to make of the woman sitting in front of him right now. He was sure she must be some alien from outer space that took over her body. Deb was hurt for Nathan. She could hear the pain in his voice and she was upset.

"So are you ready to move back home? Is that why you came?" she asked.

"No, Mom, I'm not. At least, I don't think I am. Now that I've had time to think, I get where she was coming from. I don't forgive the lying. Not yet. I will at some point but I have way too much on my mind right now to worry about that." he said.

Deb simply nodded. "I can understand. But Nathan, she's your wife. You two need to sit down and talk."

"I know. And we will. I have to go to the doctor tomorrow morning at 10:30. I think Lucas is going to go with me but you're more than welcome to come. I'd actually... kind of... like... for you to be there. It's Dr. McDaniel." he told her.

"That's your father's doctor! Are you sure you want to go to him? Not that he's not a good doctor, he's actually wonderful. But are you ready to tell your father yet?" she asked.

"If I don't have to yet, I don't want to. Aren't there some sort of privacy protection laws that they have to follow? They can't just like, call Dad up and say, 'Oh, your son, Nathan came in today. Did ya know he has HCM?'" he said, in a mock voice.

Deb laughed. "No, no, they can't do that. I'll make sure that they understand that this isn't to be discussed. You are emancipated from us, after all."

She didn't mean for that to sound like a dig at Nathan but it sort of did. Nathan just shrugged it off though. Digging at him or not, she was more supportive of him than she had been his entire life. Unless it involved basketball and in that case, she was there for everything. Whatever planet this alien lifeform was from, Nathan was glad it had over taken his mom. She was definitely an amazing woman.

"So, tomorrow morning at 10:30, right?" she said, changing the subject.

"Yeah. Are you going to come?" he asked.

She smiled, "I'll be there."

Nathan nodded. "Hey Mom?"

"Yes?" she answered.

"Can we eat lunch now? I'm starving!" he stated, eyes wide.

"Of course." she said as she reached for a plate from the cabinet. She fixed him a star basketball player sized plate and sat it in front of him. As she handed him a fork, she sighed.

"And Mom? Please don't tell Dad yet. I'm not ready for that. Not yet. Please." he begged.

She nodded, lost in her thoughts.

_My son... I'm so sorry... I wish I could take this all away from you.. _


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So! I'm excited about this chapter... I think you will be too as soon as you get started reading it! Things are gunna get interesting from here! A lot of you will probably be happy.. or at least, happier.. lol. And everybody get excited for this one—I'll have a TON of time to write for the next two months! I'm on semi-bedrest through my first trimester! Oh yeah, I'm pregnant! So any ideas for any new fics, hit me up... I'm gunna lose my mind being stuck in the house so much! Alright, ready for Chapter 10? I know I am! AH!**

**Chapter 10**

It was 9:45 and Haley was anxiously awaiting the time to come for her to leave. She wanted to be there for Nathan, to show her support. She didn't care if he didn't want to see her, she just wanted him to know that she still cared and she wasn't going anywhere. She planned to tell him all that as soon as she got there.

"TutorGirl, can you PUH-LEASE sit down? Or at least cut the pacing out? You're making me dizzy!" Brooke said as she covered her eyes with her hand.

Haley sighed heavily, plopping herself down on the end of the couch. "I'm sorry, Brooke... I can't help myself... I just want to get this over with. I want Nathan to know that I'm here for him. I want him to know I meant it when I said always and forever and I don't want him to have a second longer to think that I don't."

"You need me to drive you?" Brooke asked.

Brooke had stayed the night with Haley to attempt to keep her sane. That only half-ass worked. Once they were all shopped out, they got ice cream. They came home and vegged out on the couch watching old school John Hughes movies and eating chips and cheese dip. This lasted the majority of the night. At least, until Brooke passed out. Haley, on the other hand, stayed awake until around 8... and was up again at 9. _Poor girl, _Brooke thought, _She's just too nervous._

"...that... would be amazing! Would you?" Haley squealed.

"Of course, silly! I wouldn't be your best friend, well, best girl friend, if I didn't." Brooke stated, matter of factly.

Haley looked sad. "Brooke... you're my only best friend."

"Now now, don't say that. Luke's just mad right now. He'll calm down and realize that your head and your heart were just really confused! Everything'll be fine. It'll all work itself out!" Brooke assured her.

Haley looked up at the clock. 10:05. "Holy shit! Let's get outta here! We can get there and get parked and maybe meet them out front so we don't make a scene in the office. Just in case Nathan decides he REALLY doesn't wanna talk to me, ya know?" Haley rambled.

Brooke got up and grabbed her keys from the counter. "Let's hit the highway!"

Nathan and Deb were up and eating breakfast. Dan had left and according to Deb, hadn't asked too many questions about why Nathan had stayed the night. He seemed pretty happy, actually. Of course he would be. He really DID hate Haley. Dan saw Haley as the end to Nathan's basketball career. _"She'll tie you down on her own first and then she'll saddle you with a kid and you can kiss my dream goodbye!" _Dan had told him... over and over and over. His dream.. never Nathan's,never even their's together. Solely Dan's. At least Nathan would be able to tell his father that he didn't have to worry about Haley ending his basketball career anymore, it was just the disease that he had passed on to Nathan. That would certainly be an interesting conversation to have.

"Eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and hashbrowns... Mom, what if they have to run blood tests and they needed me to not have 5,000 calories for breakfast?" Nathan laughed.

"Oh well, they'll know that you're not starving!" She smiled.

"I'm laughing when they check my cholesterol and it's through the roof from this." Nathan said.

Deb snatched the small plate containing the bacon away from Nathan's larger plate which contained everything else. "There! One less thing! Better?" she asked.

"Nooooo! Not the bacon!" Nathan said, dramatically.

They both laughed. Maybe it was because they were both nervous about Nathan going to the cardiologist. But it seemed like the mood was so much lighter while he was around his mom. He really loved the new her! She was supportive but she didn't treat him like he was a leper. He really wondered if she was treating him and only him this way. Nathan guessed he'd find out in half an hour when she talked to his new doctor. That was really only an hour from now. Nathan's stomach lurched.

Deb looked at him and saw the worry settling on his face. She placed a hand over his own. "Nathan, everything's going to be fine. We're just going to find out what steps need to be taken next. Things will be okay." she told him, hoping her words would serve as comfort.

Nathan frowned. "I just wish Haley and I were on better terms. I really am gonna have to talk to her after the doctor."

Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Deb patted Nathan's hand and walked to answer it. Opening the door, she was surprised at who she saw standing there.

"Good morning... well, um, hey!" Lucas said, awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure how to feel given the circumstances.

Deb hugged Lucas and invited him in. "Yes, Lucas, good morning! I'm glad you're here! I think your brother's starting to get nervous."

"Well, I wasn't sure he was even here. But I figured that since he didn't come back to my house last night he must have stayed at the River Court or came here. I checked there first. Hey um, Dan's not here, is he?" he asked.

"No! He left early this morning for the dealership. Nathan hasn't even seen him since he got here. Thank you, Lucas. I mean it." she hugged him again. "I'm afraid that without you, Nathan... Well..." she hung her head.

Lucas nodded. "I know. I'm just glad I was there."

Nathan walked into the front hallway and said, "Hey guys, um, the doctor's office is like 10 minutes away... we're gonna be late if we don't leave soon."

Deb looked at her watch. "Oh you're right! Let's go!" she said as she grabbed her purse and keys. "Come on, my boys!"

Lucas and Nathan looked at each other. This new Deb was just too weird for the moment.

"Did she really just call us 'her boys'?" Lucas asked Nathan.

Nathan nodded. "Man, I have so much to tell you..."

Brooke swung her Beetle around and backed into a parking space so that they could see when Nathan and whoever would be with him would arrive. Brooke didn't feel like this was the sneakiest way to work this and she guessed that Nathan would spot her car the second he pulled into the lot. But Haley was determined. So Brooke followed orders, sat back, put on her aviators and waited. Haley on the other hand was sitting on the edge of her seat and couldn't hardly be still.

"Haley! Your shaking the entire car! Stop with the leg shaking... your husband isn't in between them and I don't feel any lesbian tendencies comin' on today." Brooke stated.

Haley shot her a grossed out look. "Really? I'm sorry.. I'm just so nervous.." she said.

"I know, I know.." Brooke started, but before she could finish her sentence, she saw a sleek, black SUV pull into the parking lot.

Haley gasped and pointed when she saw Nathan in the passenger seat. "There he is! Wait a second, he's with Deb? Oh Brooke..." Haley bit her lip and looked as if she was about to cry. She knew the if he had gone to Deb and Dan that he was done with her. His parents would convince him that she was a horrible wife and that she must be cheating on him. Deb would tell Nathan "I told you so" and she would be proud of herself. Dan would be proud of his son for leaving Haley. This was not going to be good.

"You're still going to get out, you're still going to talk to him, you're still going to support him! I did NOT drag information out of Lucas for you to chicken out on me, Haley James-Scott!" Brooke leaned across Haley as she saw Nathan get out of Deb's car. She opened the passenger door and placed a hand on Haley's upper arm. "Now, put on your big girl panties," she pushed Haley out of the car, "and go get your husband back!"

"Brooke!" Haley said, startled.

Lucas heard Haley's voice and his nostrils flared. He turned to see Haley almost fall on her ass after being pushed from Brooke's car. Nathan had already turned at the sound of her voice. His heart raced. What was she doing here? How did she even know this was where he'd be this morning?

"Dammit Brooke!" Lucas mumbled under his breath.

Nathan was frozen. He was absolutely elated that his wife had found out about his appointment and had chosen to show up. But at the very same time, he was so angry that she picked this incredibly important day to do this. Why couldn't she have just waited until this was over? He didn't need to be stressed out right now. But he couldn't shake the fact that the weight he had been feeling before this moment was so much lighter after seeing her face. He loved her with every ounce of his being. Seeing her standing there, knowing she had to have gone to great lengths to have found out about his appointment, he knew that she loved him just as much. He knew it wasn't over. It could never be over. He just didn't know how to handle this right now. His heart was in the middle of a war and he had an appointment to get to. _Do I ignore her or do I talk to her? I mean, she went to all this trouble... but I didn't ask her to and I don't even know if I wanted her to... What the hell do I do here?_

Deb stepped around Nathan and noticed the boys were looking at something. She followed their gazes and saw Haley standing there beside a Beetle. _Poor girl, she looks terrified. Smile, Deb._ Deb smiled warmly at Haley. She wasn't going to wait on either of the boys to walk over to her and she didn't want to stress Nathan and have him do something he didn't want to do. She decided that she would be the one to talk to Haley, that she would try to make peace. It was the least she could do for Nathan. She just wanted to help mend her son's broken heart.

As Deb began walking toward Haley, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. She looked over her shoulder and Lucas' eyes met hers. His eyes pleaded with her to not speak to Haley. But Deb was determined to fix what had been broken. She figured that if she couldn't fix her marriage, she might as well attempt to fix her son's. She quickly pulled her arm free of his grasp and continued walking toward Haley, head held high.

"Haley. Hi." Deb said, softly.

Haley looked at the ground as her eyes began to well with tears. She didn't know what to say. She was preparing herself for the worst. Deb had been known to be rather vocal about how much she disliked Haley. And today was definitely not a good day to be crossing her mother-in-law's path. Of course Deb knew that Nathan had HCM and Haley was sure she knew about the fight. She braced herself for a thorough tongue-lashing and was already beginning to back toward Brooke's car so she could make a quick getaway.

"Haley, his appointment is in just a few minutes. You're not going to stand out here for the entire thing now, are you?" Deb asked with a small smile.

Haley was taken aback. Was Deb really being nice to her? Did she honestly just ask Haley to come inside with them? Haley wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. She thought she might have just been hearing things. She couldn't speak. She just stared at Deb with wide, doe eyes.

"Haley? I know it's been a while since I've seen you, but I don't think you've lost your hearing that quickly." Deb laughed. "Come on," she said as she extended her hand for Haley to take.

Brooke had slowly gotten out of her car and was standing next to the driver side door. Haley turned to look at her. Brooke nodded in Deb's direction as if to say, "Get a move on, bitch!" Or at least, that's what she was thinking. Then Lucas caught her eye. _Shit... shit shit shit!_ Brooke bit her lip and threw Lucas her best pouty, "I'm sorry" face. All he could do was shake his head.

Nathan was completely shocked. He knew that his mom seemed to have gone nuts but this... this was going just a bit overboard. She was being NICE to Haley! All the pills must have really done some damage to her brain cells. He wondered if she remembered who Haley was and what she had done. _She's my wife... I love her. Always and Forever. _Nathan sighed. _I'm glad she's here..._ And as he thought this, he smiled.

Haley saw it. _Nathan smiled! Maybe all hope isn't lost. But Deb is freaking me out. Oh, be happy, Haley! Nathan smiled!_ She took Deb's hand and they walked toward the boys.

Brooke was still in shock. She walked toward Lucas and mouthed apologies over and over. Lucas simply put an arm around her as he approached her.

"You were trying to help. I know. I just hope that this doesn't do more damage." Lucas said to her.

Brooke shook her head. "Lucas, you have no idea how sorry she is. And she really means it. She wants to fix this. She wants her husband back. It's alllllll she's talked about. This was the best thing to do. Trust me. Please," she said. She snapped her head toward Lucas as she realized something. "What the hell is going on with Deb? Did she get abducted by aliens? She hates Haley!" Brooke exclaimed.

"It's a long long story. I'll fill you in later." Lucas said as he opened the door for Brooke.

Deb had one arm around Haley's shoulders and her other arm around Nathan's waist. Yep, she would be the one to make sure this got fixed. She watched as Nathan signed himself in and was handed a stack of paperwork to fill out.

"Need any help? Any questions?" Deb asked Nathan as they all sat down. With his mom, wife, brother and best friend here with him, Nathan had an entourage.

Nathan glanced over the first sheet. "I don't know yet." He stopped when he saw a space marked Spouse. He felt a pain in his heart but he knew it wasn't the HCM. He looked up at Haley and said, "No, I think I got it."

Haley's eyes met his. She begged with her eyes for him to forgive her.

Nathan wrote her name on the line for Spouse before he even wrote his own.

Deb noticed this as she sat beside him. This was going to be a good day.

Nathan finished his paperwork and took it back to the receptionist. He still hadn't said a word to Haley. Not that he knew what to say anyway. _Hi? What's up, stranger? How ya been? Really.. what am I supposed to say? Haley, I'm terrified and I'm glad you're here. I don't think I could do this without you. Or, I really wish you hadn't showed up. It's not that I don't want you here it's just that you just managed to confuse me more than anything ever has in my life. _

Nathan leaned over to Haley and smiled. "I'm really glad you're here, Hales. I don't think I could have done this without you."

Haley nodded. She was amazed. Something had to be wrong here. Everything was too good.

Nathan finished, "But please don't think that this means everything that happened is just gonna blow over. We need to talk. And I don't forgive you yet." His facial expression had changed. Haley could see the anger in his eyes.

And there it was, the wrong. "I understand that, Nathan. I don't blame you. And I'm sorry." she said, somewhat dejected.

He wanted to ask if she really was but he figured this wasn't the time or the place. So instead, he simply nodded and said, "Yeah." He leaned back in his chair and tried to mentally prepare himself for what all was about to go on. But just as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, Haley popped into his head. _Focus, Nate..._

Haley was beginning to think that Nathan was bipolar. He was smiling one second and mad the next. She really had done a number on him. But she was feeling conflicted herself. She wanted to hold Nathan's hand and tell him she was there for him and that she wasn't running anymore. But at the same time she wanted to stay as far away as possible because she was scared. She was scared that if she got close enough to him that HE would be the one running. She didn't want to mess this up.

Brooke and Lucas were enamored in their own conversation. The most Deb caught was something about screwing something up and Nathan's alcohol consumption from two nights before. She heard Brooke say that she hadn't seen that many empty bottles since her dad first mentioned divorce to her mom. Then she heard Lucas remark on the condition he had found Nathan in after his talk with Haley. _These poor kids.. life is supposed to be easy for them right now and these are the kinds of things they're having to deal with. _

Interrupting everyone's thoughts and conversations, a nurse walked thru a door, holding a chart. "Scott, Nathan Scott?" she said.

Nathan stood up and looked at Haley first, then glanced at everyone else.

_Guess it's now or never.. Wish it was never..._


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So, for those of you who aren't reading my other story but have celebrated with me in the last chapter about being pregnant.. I miscarried. The husband and I knew this was a distinct possibility and that the first pregnancy or first two or more would most likely end this way, but none of that makes this hurt any less. Therefore, if my writing seems a little dark or depressing, I apologize. It's how I'm feeling right about now. Bear with me, better days are ahead. In the meantime, if it gets to be too much, feel free to send flames my way. I'll accept them gracefully. Now, on to things getting more interesting...surprise visit from a very special guest in this chapter. It's gunna be interesting to see how all this goes. Anyway, enough stalling, on to the next installment!**

**Chapter 11**

This was proving to be the longest walk of Nathan's life. There were so many people here with him that he loved and they were all most likely about to be seeing him break down. He didn't want to be weak. HCM was a big deal. It was a sickness that was about to steal Nathan's dream from him. Dan might have pushed Nathan to become as great as he was in basketball but Nathan loved the game and there was no doubting that. He dreamed of playing for Duke in college and eventually playing for the Chicago Bulls, like his hero Michael Jordan. It was all he ever wanted.

And now he was waiting in the exam room to be told that his dreams were pointless. Nathan felt that without basketball, he wasn't a man. If he couldn't play, he wasn't Nathan Scott. It hurt more than anything in the world. Of course, having Haley there helped tremendously. But Haley and Nathan were on the outs and that made this even harder. Nathan had never felt more alone in his life. He felt empty. There was so much that he was feeling all at the same time that it all started running together. None of the feelings were positive. _Feeling... Feel... I can't feel anything really. I'm just numb._

Dr. McDaniel had walked in the room and shook Nathan's hand. He shook Deb's hand as she introduced herself and everyone else. Nathan mentally checked out. He couldn't hear a thing that was being said; it was like his ears had been stopped up. Without Nathan's knowledge, his mom had swapped spots with Haley and Haley now had her hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles.

Haley was so worried about Nathan. It had been all she had thought about since they fought. She was so upset that they couldn't have worked this out before today. She wanted to be able to be there for him without him resenting her for it. She loved him so much more than she ever thought possible and she wanted to be able to tell him that. But she couldn't. _I royally fucked everything up, including my life. All over a damn demo that no one knows if it would ever make it out of Chris Keller's grimy hands. _

As Haley contemplated her past decisions, Lucas worried for Nathan's mental welfare. He had seen what the fight with Haley and the HCM diagnosis had done to him already and that wasn't a state he ever wanted to see his little brother in again. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the fact that Haley was there was probably keeping Nathan from falling apart. He loved his best friend but she had made some poor decisions. But if Nathan was alright with her being here, then he would be okay too. His allegiance was to Haley in the first place, after all. _Maybe after this is over we'll all go do something together. Even if all we do is sit at Nathan and Haley's.. I'm gunna suggest that. I think Nathan needs all of us right now._

Brooke was completely uncomfortable. She was and had been Nathan's best friend since before anyone else had been around. Deb knew Brooke on so many levels and Brooke admired Nathan's mother. She looked up to her and she respected her. At least, that was until She fell totally off the wagon. But since she's decided that Nathan was more important than pills and booze, Brooke had the utmost respect for the woman who gave birth to her best friend. She was terrified that the doctor would tell Nathan he couldn't ever play basketball again and that would devastate him. She knew that with her grades, she'd never get to Duke but with her phenomenal grasp of cheerleading, there might have been a chance. That was Nathan and Brooke's plan; to go to Duke together, best friends til the end, for him to play basketball and for her to cheer him on. _I'm going to miss that dream just as much as he will. Ugh, I've never felt so helpless!_

Deb had a million questions flying through her head all at the same time. She could tell she was going to have to be the one to ask every question and relay every answer to Nathan later when he could pay attention again. Dr. McDaniel was extremely patient and answered every question without fail, putting things into layman's terms when necessary. He explained that HCM stood for Hypertrophic Cardio Myopathy. Of course, that had everyone's heads reeling.

Those three words had been the only thing Nathan had heard since his ears stopped up. Hearing that sent a stab of pain through his heart for his dreams. He instinctively grabbed Haley's hand and squeezed. This caused her eyes to tear. She was so scared for him.

Lucas noticed the exchange between the two and without thinking, softly smiled.

Brooke jabbed Lucas in the ribs and gave him an evil look.

He very stealthily pointed toward Nathan and Haley's hands and whispered in Brooke's ear, "Look at that.." Brooke smiled too.

"My husband has the same condition, Dr. McDaniel, but fogive me, I'm not very familiar with it. Dan tends to be a bit on the secretive side. He refuses to discuss health issues in our home. What exactly does HCM do? How does it affect the heart?" Deb asked the doctor.

"Well," Dr. McDaniel began, "think of the heart as if it were a house. A house has walls, plumbing and electricity. A well built house has properly placed bricks as its walls. In an HCM heart, the bricks in the walls are like cells and some of those cells aren't properly placed."

Deb nodded. This was somewhat confusing to her.

Dr. McDaniel continued, "In a house the plumbing lets the fluid travel in a specific pattern and the same goes for a normal heart. In an HCM heart sometimes the plumbing in the heart can cause the fluid - in this case blood - to get blocked temporarily while attempting to leave the heart. But don't confuse this with a blocked artery, that's not the case. HCM isn't Coronary Artery Disease."

Deb continued to nod and things began to make sense to her.

"In a house, there's an electrical system that allows power to be sent through circuits. The same goes for a normal heart. In an HCM heart, there can be a number of different electrical problems, some minor and some severe. In the most minor cases, a circuit might get stuck and cause you to experience a slight arrhythmia or an irregular heartbeat. But in the most severe cases, these "stuck" circuits could cause you to go into cardiac arrest, which you could liken to that of a power failure in your house." Dr McDaniel finished. He noticed the Deb fully understood and was now more terrified that when he first walked through the exam room door.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Scott. I know that this is a lot to take in and it's hard to hear that your son has this. You said your husband has it as well, do the two of you have any other children?" he asked.

Lucas' eyes widened. _Oh there's no way in hell you're about to get me to take that test. It's still a 50/50 shot for me! I don't want to know... _

"Dan has another son," she said, pointing to Lucas, "Lucas Scott."

Lucas raised two fingers to the doctor.

"Son, have you been tested yet?" he asked Lucas.

Lucas shook his head. "No sir. I had the chance and I decided that I don't want to know." 

"You lucked out, Luke." Nathan said. Finally. He could speak. He wasn't sure that he had even heard what they were talking about, but he knew in the part of his mind that was still in the room, that there was something he could respond to.

Lucas bowed his head.

"It's in your best interest and by my medical advice that you get tested as soon as possible. I can do an athletic screening on you myself and I won't charge you. You need to know if you have it so that you can get started on the same medicine I'm going to give your brother today. I take it you play basketball as well?" Dr. McDaniel asked.

Lucas simply nodded. _Get back to your patient. I can handle myself, thanks._

"Well, when you're ready, just call here and make an appointment. Let them know I told you to get an athletic screening and I'll handle the charges myself. Now, any more questions before I explain the medicine I'm going to give you, Nathan? Mrs. Scott?"

Den bit her lip. "Just one more. What exactly does HCM mean for Nathan playing basketball?"

This was it. That right there was the question that Nathan had been on edge about hearing the answer to throughout the whole appointment. He simply did not want to know. Like Lucas didn't want to know if he had this or not, Nathan didn't want to hear that basketball would come to an end. _No._ He wasn't ready to hear this yet. _No No No._ It hurt too much. _No!_ He wanted to scream. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Haley squeezed his hand. _Haley..._

"Basketball is an intense sport that cause your heart rate to increase. Between the running and the sheer adrenaline rush, it's possible to cause a severe arrhythmia resulting in cardiac arrest. I would advise you to either severely cut back on your involvement in the game or to cut it out completely. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. I'll be giving you some Beta-Blockers to slow your heart rate a bit and this can cause some fatigue from time to time. I think you should discuss with your coach, if you still desire to play at all, cutting back to maybe 15 minutes a game." Dr McDaniel stated with a sad look on his face.

Nathan's heart raced. Tears welled in his eyes. He had to turn his face from everyone. He couldn't take it. Not now. Not ever. "No... No no no..." was all he could force out.

Lucas tightened his grip on the arm of his chair. He wasn't sure what to do. He looked at Brooke with a pained expression. She furrowed her brow and tried her best to fight back the tears.

Haley wanted to break down and cry with Nathan but she had to be strong. She felt like that was what he needed. She pushed back the tears and promised herself a few minutes alone to be able to let it all out later. For now, she was there for Nathan and no other reason. She wrapped her arm around his waist and whispered in his ear, "It's okay, baby, shh, it's gunna be okay." Nathan just shook his head as the tears that only Haley could see began to flow freely.

"I'm going to write up the prescriptions. I want you to come back in two weeks and let me run some more tests. We'll see how the Beta-Blockers are working for you and see if there's anything else we need to get you started on. In the meantime, I'm also going to give you a prescription for nitroglycerin pills. These are not to be used for anything other than if you feel extreme chest pain like that of a heart attack or you feel your heart begin to beat erratically. Then and only then, use the nitroglycerin pills. Alright?" Dr. McDaniel stated.

Nathan nodded and Deb answered for him. "Yes sir, thank you, doctor."

Dr. McDaniel laid Nathan's chart down on the counter for them to take up front and walked out the door. That would be all they would see of him until the next appointment. It seemed like it wasn't enough. Telling someone they have to give up their dream and then just walking out the door like it was an everyday conversation. It just didn't seem right to Nathan.

Deb stood up and walked to Nathan. "Honey, come on. Let's go. Let's get out of here." she said.

Nathan sniffled. Haley dried his tears. "Come on, baby. We'll go to your mom's and we'll talk. None of us are going to leave you. We're all right here. I'm here." Haley said.

Nathan nodded as he slowly stood and walked to the door. Everyone followed behind him. As they walked down the hallway, Deb moved to one side of Nathan, Haley to the other. Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke as silent tears fell from her eyes. She hurt for Nathan, she hurt for Haley. This was going to be a long afternoon.

After checking out at the window, Deb paying for everything, and scheduling the appointment for two weeks from now, they all walked out the exit door. Nathan's mission was simply to get to the car without breaking down. He just wanted to go home and hold Haley. He wanted to cry with her. He wanted her to show him that he wasn't alone. He just wanted her. As they walked to the cars, Nathan stared at the ground.

Suddenly, there was a shadow where Nathan had been looking. A sullen Nathan looked up from the ground and there he was. He was dressed to the nines; suit and tie, his normal work attire. His broad shoulders and his dark face were enough to intimidate the most fearless person. Nathan was certainly intimidated. Because now he had to face the one person he hadn't even spoken to since he was told he had HCM. The time was now. Dan Scott was about to hear it all...

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know, it's short... Yes, I know, cliffhanger... butttttttt... keep comin back for more. My writing plan right now is to get out a Christmas one-shot prompt, then either another chapter of Lovers and Friends or a new story I'm working on and then another chapter of Nathan Scott, HCM... sooooo... it's gunna be a lil bit before the next chapter comes out... I know, I'm terrible... but I'll keep you in suspense of the b-... hmmm... you'd LIKE to know what happens next, huh?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So, I know, I was going to have this out a lot sooner, but 9 puppies are making me insane.. they keep me busy and if I'm not busy, they whine ((scuse me, howl, 99% of the time and whine 1%)) so it's not very conducive to writing.. Plus it was Christmas and life got crazy! Merry Late Christmas, all! Anyway, here it comes... the long awaited confrontation with the person we all love to hate.. On to chapter 12!**

**Chapter 12**

_You gotta be kidding me... _was all Nathan could think in that moment. There was no way he wanted to have to explain this to Dan right now. Not here. Not in front of anyone. But Dan had seem them, all of them and he would want answers.

Why would this eclectic group of people be together and why would Haley be among them? He knew that Nathan had been staying at their house so that must have meant the two were fighting. Dan had been rather overjoyed about this but now he was utterly confused.

"Nathan?" he asked of no one in particular, he knew it was his son standing in front of him.

_Shit... _"Dad" he said, nodding his head.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I-..."

"We came to get our athletic screenings." Lucas interrupted, giving Dan a hateful stare.

_Oh my God, Lucas... I owe you... _

"Oh. Athletic screenings? Who told you to have that done? I thought all you needed was a simple physical." Dan said, looking directly at Nathan for an answer.

Nathan stood solid, unmoving. He didn't want to speak. But he did. "Whitey mentioned that it might be a good idea since our father has HCM."

Dan was taken aback. First, because Nathan had actually spoken to him and second, because the realization that Nathan might have his genetic defect hit him. Dan immediately thought about his dream for his son. Well, his dream for himself. But of course, since he knew he wasn't going to be playing in the NBA, he had always dreamed his son would, so that he could live vicariously through him. After contemplating for a moment, he said, "I see. So how long will it be before you get the results?"

"Probably not until Monday," Lucas answered.

Dan nodded his head toward Lucas and then looked at Haley as he asked, "See you at home, Nathan?" He assumed that since Nathan had stayed with them last night that he and Haley were into it. This made him happy. Dan had never wanted Nathan to be saddled with a wife. He, of course, dreamed that Nathan would be a huge star in the NBA. That kind of life calls for no attachments. He would do anything in the world to break Nathan and Haley up if it meant he had a better shot at getting Nathan in the NBA. His dream...

Nathan nodded his head with no intention of seeing Dan anywhere for a while. There was no way he wanted to deal with this right now. All he could think about was getting back to the apartment and talking to Haley. He needed her now more than ever. He might have still been angry but he wanted to get this over and done with. He had just lost his dream, there was no way he would lose his wife too.

The entourage walked past Dan, all but Lucas keeping their eyes away. Lucas just stared. The anger that he felt toward Dan would more than likely last a lifetime. And now it was even worse what with finding out that Dan had passed this gene on to Nathan. Lucas was absolutely livid but he felt that he needed to let it go for now so that he could focus on Nathan. That's who needed him right now. He put a hand on Nathan's shoulder as he spoke to him, "I got you, Nate."

"I owe you, dude."

"Anytime."

As they all piled into the vehicles, Deb turned to Nathan and asked why he wasn't riding with Haley and Brooke.

"Because, Mom, I came with you. I'm leaving with you."

"You need to talk to your wife. Go home and talk to her." she said as Lucas got into the SUV.

"You wanna go, man? Me and Brooke can stick around in case you need us." Lucas said.

"Are you sure, Mom? I can go home with you and just talk to Haley later." Nathan said. He was really unsure about going home with Haley. He wanted to talk to her and get all this out of the way. He wanted to be able to hold her tonight as he slept. But at the same time he wasn't looking forward to the arguing and the anger that he was sure was going to come from all this. Plus the fact that he didn't know if he was completely ready to forgive her just yet. He had such conflicting feelings on the whole situation. But before Nathan could protest anymore, Deb had already rolled down the window and asked Brooke and Haley if they would wait for Nathan and Lucas.

"Go on. I'll see you later and you can call me if you need me to come get you or just when you're ready to get your car." Deb said.

Nathan reluctantly got out of the car. Lucas was ready to go anywhere. Oh and of course be there for his brother.

Haley wasn't sure if it would be too much if she got out of the front seat and sat in the back with Nathan. She didn't want to overstep her bounds right now. He was, after all, coming to the apartment with them. She stayed put as Nathan and Lucas climbed into Brooke's backseat.

"Well, hello boys! And how are w-... hmmm... anyway... so let's go to the apartment?" Brooke said, stopping herself when she realized what the situation was.

Haley shook her head as Nathan shifted in his seat. This day was only going to get longer from here. The ride to the apartment was silent, aside from Brooke's eclectic mix of music which was no doubt a Peyton-inspired mix CD. There was everything from unknown Indie bands to big label stars. Lucas and Haley both seemed to enjoy it but Nathan was off in his own world.

_So, we're going to talk this through and she's going to tell me, what? That I'm wrong to feel the way I do? That I shouldn't be upset? Or is she going to try to ignore everything and act like it was all just a bad dream? I want to get it all out and get it over with. I don't want to just bury it. I don't think it's possible to do that. I love her so much it hurts. Maybe that's why I'm so confused. _

Nathan was pulled from his thoughts as the car came to a stop and Brooke opened her door. They were at the apartment already? Everyone got out of the vehicle and Nathan moved slowly. Everyone thought that it was just because he was depressed or maybe he was worn out from the emotional roller coaster he'd been on all day. Haley was the only one who understood the inner turmoil that Nathan was suffering because she suffered the same feelings right along with him. Of course, she was on the other side. The side that put him through all this. The side that ran away from her problems and simply made them worse. Nathan climbed out of Brooke's car. Brooke noticed that he looked distracted.

Slinging an arm up in an attempt to make it around his shoulders, "HotShot, if you want, I'll order us a pizza and we'll all kick back and order some sleezy movie with terrible actors that we can make fun of!" she said with a huge grin.

Nathan appreciated her bubbliness today of all days. Maybe a distraction would be good for him and Haley right now. They could talk later. This was about all the emotional that he could take today. Plus, he was really starting to ease up some on how he was feeling towards Haley. After all, she WAS there with him at the doctor today and she DID stay right by his side. She didn't turn and run. She was there. Nathan smiled at this thought.

Of course, Brooke had been looking for some sort of reaction to come from Nathan and the smile did it! "Alright! Pizza and sleezy movies it is! Calling P. Sawyer!" she said as she skipped off toward Haley and grabbed her phone from her back pocket. Peyton had to be here to complete the group and make proper fun of the acting.

Lucas slapped Nathan on the shoulder. "You doin' okay? Considering?" he asked.

"Yeah, man." Nathan smiled. "For now."

Lucas smiled as well, "Good to hear!"

"Hey, Luke.." Nathan said as Lucas had turned to walk away, "thanks for that back there. Ya know, with Dan."

Lucas looked over his shoulder at Nathan and said, "Anything for you, little brother. I'll always take care of you."

Nathan nodded. It was starting to get a little weird how close they had become. Neither of the boys ever expected things to turn out this way. HCM involved or not, they were in their Sophomore year and had never liked each other. Now they were inseparable. Even though things looked dark, maybe they would take a turn for the better. Nathan was unsure, but for now he was trying to look up. He walked to the apartment door and took a deep breath as he turned the knob.

_Here we go..._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Lexie-Rae... because while I was JUST now reading her review to the last chapter, I got insanely inspired and had like 5 ideas pop into my head. Sooo... without further ado, onto Chapter 13!**

**Chapter 13**

"Dan Scott?" the nurse called. Dan stood up from his seat in the waiting room and walked through the doorway were the nurse stood. "How are you today, Shelia?" he asked the nurse. She replied with a smile and a common response to his question, of course, Dan Scott really wouldn't care to know how she was. He followed her to the exam room and waited for Dr. McDaniel to come in.

As he sat on the table, waiting for the doctor, he began to think about Nathan. He seemed upset about something. Maybe it was just because of Haley having been there, maybe not. Maybe something terrible had happened with Haley. Dan hoped that she had cheated on Nathan and that their marriage was over. He felt that it was doomed before it started, but Nathan had been emancipated and was free to make his own choices. Even if Dan thought they were foolish. Then his thoughts traveled to why Nathan had been here at the cardiologists office today. Lucas had given, what Dan thought was, a pretty lame excuse.

Dan thought about what the conversations between his sons and Whitey would have been like. That Whitey would tell them with disdain that they needed to be checked since Dan's HCM was genetic. He immediately was concerned for Nathan and Lucas both. He might be a cold-hearted asshole, but he would never want for either of his sons to have to deal with this disease. There were too many risks that came along with it. Then his thoughts trailed to just Nathan and his basketball career. He had molded and trained Nathan, made him sweat and puke, made him sleep, eat and drink basketball all of his life. The NBA was Dan's dream that was cut short by impregnating Deb and Karen both (and of course, his HCM) and Dan was determined to not let it die. If Nathan were to be diagnosed, it would be the end of his dream. He wasn't sure that he could take it. Would Nathan tell him if he were diagnosed? Wait a minute... when Dan found out that he had HCM, they told him that day. Oh, he was about to get to the bottom of this.

Dr. McDaniel walked in about that time. "Hey there, Dan. How are we feeling today?"

"Pretty good, doc. How bout yourself? How are the wife and kids?" Dan asked.

"They're doing great! I'm great. Heading out for vacation to Cabo San Lucas in the next week. I desperately need a break from here. How are things down at the dealership?"

Dan smiled and nodded. "Sounds amazing. Things are good. Business seems to be picking up. Everybody needs a new car these days. How's that old clunker of yours running? Ready to upgrade yet?"

Dr. McDaniel pulled his stethoscope from around his neck and laughed. "Not quite yet, but you know I'll come down there as soon as I am."

Dan stopped talking to allow the doctor to listen to his heart beat. As soon as he was through, Dan took in a breath and said, "So, I saw both my sons walking out of here a few minutes ago." He was hinting that he wanted to know why they were here and was hoping Dr. McDaniel would give him some information

"Now, Dan, you know I legally can't tell you anything about Nathan. There are patient confidentiality laws."

"Yes, but he's my son. And he's a minor." Dan reasoned.

"An emancipated minor. With a wife. I'm sorry, Dan, I can't tell you."

Dan shook his head. "David, I thought we were friends. Guess I'll just have to talk to Shelia about it. She'll be more understanding, I think. Especially when I mention that I might stop by your house and see Christi to have a little chat. Trysts with nurses tend to have pretty poor outcomes, you know." he threatened.

Dr. McDaniel's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, but I would. Now, how about you fill me in on exactly what happened while my sons were here?"

The doctor hung his head. "Nathan was the only one with an appointment. It was for a second opinion. I concur with the original athletic screening that he had in Charlotte." He paused for a moment and looked up at Dan. "He has HCM, Dan. If he hadn't come in and gotten started on medication, if he had continued to play basketball the way he was... he wouldn't last much longer. He would have had a massive heart attack. He's going to have to severely cut back on his playing time, if not cut basketball out altogether."

Dan was completely silent. He kept his rage to a minimum and let the heart breaking take over. His dream was officially out the window. He had held onto hope that Nathan was okay and would get to live the dream Dan had for him. But this... This was big time. Suddenly, the rage hit. Lucas had lied to him. Lucas and Nathan both. Lied to his face. His ears were burning from the anger building up inside. There was going to be hell to pay.

"Brooke! Hurry up on that popcorn!" Peyton yelled.

Brooke growled. "You think I can go any faster than this ancient ass microwave? Really, Naley! I need you two to upgrade! Yesterday!"

Everyone laughed. Even Nathan. He was feeling so much more relaxed now with everyone here. Talking to Haley about everything was the last thing on his mind. He just wanted to enjoy his friends and his wife right now. And he was definitely doing that. As the laughing died down, he looked at Haley sitting next to him, nestled into his chest and he slid his arm around her. He kissed her on her forehead as she smiled and closed her eyes.

"I love you, Nathan." she said, softly.

"And I love you, Hales. Thanks for today. I didn't realize how much I needed you to be there until he said the words out loud." he said as he furrowed his brow.

Haley raised her hand to his face and smoothed out the wrinkles in his forehead. "You're welcome," she said with a nod, "but can we not talk about any of that right now? Let's just save it for later. You've been on enough of an emotional roller coaster all day. Just shh.." she said as she placed a finger to his lips and smiled a soft smile.

It was like she was reading his mind. He didn't want to talk about it but he had definitely wanted her to know that she was appreciated. He had been so angry with her for days now and all he wanted was a nice night spent with her. Of course, his friends and his brother being there made things a lot easier and he felt better about avoiding the whole Chris Keller/lie subject altogether. This was going to be a good night.

Lucas leaned forward and grabbed the remote off the coffee table. When he leaned back up against the couch, Peyton threw her legs over his and got comfortable. He looked at her and smiled. "You're pretty when you're comfortable." he said softly.

Peyton looked at him like he had lost his mind. She was dressed in black sweatpants, a loose, gray Nirvana t-shirt and her hair was a mess of blonde curls pulled back in a ponytail. She had taken her shoes off when she got there and was only wearing her black ankle socks on her feet now. Lucas rested his hand on top of her foot and swung his other arm around her shoulders. "I mean it." he said to her look.

"You must get all the girls with that charm, Lucas Scott." she said.

Lucas shook his head lightly, "I only want one."

Peyton's heart raced. She knew that the other day on the River Court, he seemed to be hitting on her but she figured that he was just being himself. That flirty, friendly personality of his often times got him in trouble. Peyton wasn't really sure what she was supposed to say back. She wanted to kiss him but was afraid that once she started, she wouldn't stop. Was she supposed to play it off? Was she supposed to ask who he was talking about? Was she supposed to know? For a while now, she thought that Lucas had wanted to be with Brooke. But Brooke flitted from boy to boy and even though Peyton was her best friend, she thought that Lucas deserved more than to be a "bang and boot" for Brooke. She decided what she was going to do.

"Oh really now? And who might that be?" Peyton said, trying to play it aloof. She really wanted to Lucas to just come out and say it.

Lucas gave her a sly smile. "You don't know her." Peyton's heart dropped. He continued, "She's pretty amazing. She's got this crazy curly blonde hair.. Long, chickeny legs.. Gorgeous eyes.. Pitiful taste in music..." Peyton stopped him there with a slap to the chest. "Oh.. Okay, okay... I take that part back.. she had pretty great taste in music. Ya know, maybe you do know her." he said as he cocked his head to the side. "Her name's Peyton Sawyer. If you see her sometime around school, tell her I kinda like her... a lot.." he finished.

Peyton smiled the biggest smile she had in a long time. She was genuinely happy. In the midst of all the madness, the depression from Nathan, the worry... she was happy. She leaned in and kissed him. He kissed back then pulled away. "You? You're Peyton Sawyer? I had no idea. How embarrassing!" he said, playfully. She nudged him with her shoulder and settled back into his chest. Happiness looked good on her.

Brooke ran to the living room, a short distance from the kitchen, and plopped down into the big armchair. "Well, everybody looks cozy! This is not normal for Brooke Davis to be the fifth wheel. Not quite sure if I'm liking this." she said.

Peyton leaned forward so that she could see Brooke clearly. "Why don't you call Felix?" she asked.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "No way. Not happening. No sir." she protested.

"No FWB?" Haley asked, looking at Brooke.

"Over. End of Story." she answered. "Anyway, if I called anyone, it would probably be..." she said, grabbing her phone from the arm of the chair.

"Uh-oh, everybody brace yourselves!" Nathan said.

"Shut it, HotShot!" Brooke growled. "Nobody start the movie yet..."

_Ring... Ring..._

"Hello?" a voice said.

**A/N: Oh yeah, I did it... I hate when this happens... but I had to do it... ahhhh... mega cliffhanger... who is Brooke calling? Can you guess it? Who do you want it to be? Review and let me know who you think it is/should be!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Soooo... Y'all took guesses but no one said who they WANTED Brooke to call.. Everybody ready for this? We're about to find out who Brooke called... And see what happens when Dan gets ahold of Nathan. I don't know if I can contain my excitement! Ahh! Here we go! ((Musical inspiration for this chapter was a lot of Everly songs + Bryan Greenberg + Tyler Hilton.. the chapter's not based on anything by them but I listened the whole time I was writing..))**

**Chapter 14**

"Heyy buddy! Whatcha doin?" Brooke said.

Nathan and Haley looked at each other. Peyton and Lucas laughed. Brooke smiled her biggest smile.

Everyone heard a male voice say, _"Umm, nothing really. Just sitting here. Trying to decide what to do tonight, I guess. What're you up to?"_

"Ohhh, nothing. Just sitting at Naley's with the crew but we're missing someone. That someone is you. Get your ass over here!" she demanded.

Haley was really confused now. Who in the world was Brooke talking to like that? Who was she inviting to their intimate gathering? An outsider wasn't really needed right now. This was supposed to be helping Nathan feel better. No response was heard from the male voice but Brooke gave a bubbly send-off and hung up her phone.

Peyton looked at Brooke quizzically, "Who was that, B. Davis?"

Brooke just smiled. "You'll see when he walks through the door. I like mystery."

Nathan and Lucas shared a quick look. Could it be...?

..

..

"You knew about this, Deb! You knew that my son was sick and you didn't tell me! How long have you known?" Dan yelled.

"Dan... This is his information to tell you, not mine. It's not my business!"

"The hell it isn't your business! You're his MOTHER!"

Deb hung her head. She was glad that Dan was unleashing on her first. She would have the chance to call and let Nathan know that he was on a rampage. Deb also hoped that if he got some of it taken out on her that he wouldn't be so harsh with Nathan. That was the last thing that he needed right now.

"You have nothing to say for yourself?" he asked her condescendingly.

"He's emancipated, Dan. I might be his mother, but he is married and lives with his wife. He's off on his own. This is his issue to discuss with you." She paused for a moment and realized something. "Wait a minute... he's emancipated. How did you find out anything about his HCM?" she asked. _What did he __do?_

"Don't worry about it, you selfish bitch. Why did you not tell me? You're my wife! You're keeping things from me doesn't make for a happy home life for you," he threatened.

She wasn't afraid of him anymore. She had been through enough with him already. She decided to ignore his threats and head upstairs to pack herself a bag. She wasn't sure where she was going but she wasn't staying there tonight.

Of course, this infuriated Dan. It seemed as though he lived to piss everyone else off. But knowing that what he had said hadn't phased Deb, made him almost blow a gasket. He followed her into their bedroom. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he nearly screamed.

"Dan, I will not stay in this house tonight with you so fired up. I'm leaving. At least for the night. You can cool off and I can stay safe," she told him as she crammed clothes into her suitcase.

Dan rolled his eyes at her last words. "Stay safe? Deb, you're ridiculous. Good. Leave. Stay gone for all I care," he seethed.

Deb zipped up her suitcase and lifted it off the bed. Walking to the door she turned to Dan and said, "By the way, Dan, you're the one that makes my home life a miserable, living hell. But thanks anyway for once again trying to shove blame on someone else. Grow up, Dan Scott. This is getting old."

With that she was down the stairs and headed out the door. Dan was furious. He chased after her, yelling out the doorway, "You'll get yours one day, bitch! Just wait!"

"Promises, promises..." she said under her breath.

She got in her car and headed to the end of the street. As soon as she knew she was out of eyesight, she pulled to the side of the road and dug through her purse for her phone. Quickly, she text Nathan.

"Nate- Dan knows. Expect a phone call or visit soon. Staying with Karen tonight. I love you, son. Call if you need me."

..

..

Everyone still wanted to know who Brooke had called but they all stopped asking after she threatened to cut the wires to the TV so that no one could watch anything. Take that back, not a threat, it was a promise. They were all laughing and trying to guess what movie Peyton would choose. Haley had elected her to decide for all the indecisive people in the room. "Something good, not emo." she had joked.

Peyton had instructed everyone to hide their eyes but Lucas couldn't help peeking. She noticed there was space between his fingers, it was obvious. She snickered as she leaned forward to make a face at him. He laughed. "I knew it! You were peeking!"

"Me? Never..." Then he whispered, "Need help?"

"Please?" she pouted.

Lucas watched as she scrolled through the choices. He knew it needed to be lighthearted and funny. But it seemed no matter the amount of funny there was in every comedy, there was something sad or depressing. They were just going to have to pick one and hope nothing triggered sadness. She had scrolled down to Napolean Dynamite. Lucas shook his head fiercely and whispered, "Hell no." Peyton smiled. Continuing to scroll through, she stopped on 50 First Dates and Lucas slid his finger from his tear duct to his jawline. Peyton took the hint that it was funny but too sad for tonight. Peyton's eyes widened when she read "Without a Paddle." Lucas said, "Peyt, it starts out at a funeral!"

"But it's good after that! And they're not there for long!"

Nathan's phone rang. "You two are taking forever and I gotta check my text," he said, pulling his phone from his pocket. He leaned back and again wrapped his arm around Haley. She read along with him. It was his mom. Her heart sank. All they wanted to do was give Nathan a chance to have a nice afternoon. Nobody wanted to think about all this. Nathan sighed. He knew this would happen at some point but damn, that was fast. He had just been told today that he was going to have to cut back, if not cut out completely, on basketball and Dan was the last person that he wanted to discuss it with. _Staying with Karen? _"Luke, my mom's staying with you tonight," he said out loud.

Lucas turned around and gave Nathan a puzzled look.

"Yeah, you heard it right. My mom is staying the night with your mom. Wonder if you're mom knows yet," he chuckled. "Without a Paddle? Badass. Let's watch it."

Brooke and Haley looked at the TV. "That's what we're watching? Nice choice, Peyton!" Haley said. Peyton turned to Lucas and stuck her tongue out. "See, I told you," she said.

_Knock Knock Knock..._ Haley and Nathan looked at each other, worry etched in Nathan's face. Brooke jumped up and ran for the door. "No! Wait!" Nathan yelled as he jumped off the couch, almost kicking Lucas in the head. Brooke got scared and stepped back from the door, holding her hands up in surrender. Nathan reached the door and put his back to it. "It might be Dan," he breathed.

From the other side of the door he heard, "I knew this had to be a joke." Then there were retreating footsteps heading down the stairs. Nathan looked at Brooke and she shrugged her shoulders. He opened the door and walked out. "Mouth?"

Mouth stopped at the middle of the stairs and looked back. "Yeah?"

"Dude, get your ass back up here. Sorry, I thought you were Dan."

"Nathan, I'm hurt. I think that's the worst insult I've ever gotten in my life," he somewhat joked.

Nathan laughed. "Sorry. Really. Come on."

From inside, Peyton said, "You called Mouth?"

Brooke let her arms fall to her sides and smiled widely. As Nathan and Mouth walked inside, she threw her arms around Mouth. "Yay! Now that you're here we can start the movie!"

Haley got up to grab something to drink. "Anybody need anything before we get started? Mouth?"

"More popcorn!" Brooke said, shaking the now empty bowl that she had absentmindedly finished off while waiting on Mouth to show up. Mouth had sat in the big armchair were Brooke had previously been and she sat in his lap. He was a little confused by her actions; calling him, sitting in his lap, but you didn't hear him complaining! "Could I get a soda?" he asked Haley.

"Sure! Popcorn for the hog and a soda for Mouth, coming up! Lucas? Peyton? Nate?"

Lucas and Peyton both said no thanks. Nathan smiled when she used his nickname. He hadn't sat down yet so he walked to the kitchen to help her. "Let me give you a hand? I can get my own drink. What do you need?"

Haley smiled. It was nice to be happy with Nathan and not be worried. All thoughts of Dan, HCM, Chris Keller... they were gone. She was just happy being there with Nathan. She put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and turned it on. "I need you for two seconds in the hallway."

Nathan smirked. She _needed_ him. He definitely needed her. _Only two seconds? Damn._ He followed her down the hallway to their bedroom door. She looked behind him to make sure they were out of eyesight. This was a sweet moment and she wanted just a little privacy. She stood on her tiptoes as he leaned down and she kissed him slowly. He kissed her back, using a little more force. She could feel her knees buckling and slid her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and deepening the kiss. It had been more than two seconds but neither one cared. Nathan carefully placed a hand on the side of her face and slowly pulled away from her. He gave her one more quick kiss and looked in her eyes. He rested his forehead on hers. Her eyes were closed. She wanted to hang on to the happiness. _Don't cry, Haley.. Keep it together._

"I love you, Haley James-Scott." Nathan breathed.

"I love you. Always and forever," she said, barely above a whisper.

He smiled widely. "Always and forever."

"Nathan? Haley?" They heard Brooke call from the living room. The microwave had stopped and was beeping. They hadn't heard a thing. Neither knew how long Brooke had been calling them. Nathan took her hand in his and squeezed it. She nodded. He walked out first and took the popcorn from the microwave. "Hand over that bowl, Brooke," he said, walking into the living room to retrieve it. He poured the popcorn into it and grabbed Mouth a drink from the refrigerator. He motioned down the hallway for Haley to come out as he walked past and handed Mouth his drink. He gave the bowl of popcorn to Lucas and Peyton as he sat down on the couch. "Hales, would you grab me a coke? I forgot," he said as though she had been there the entire time. He couldn't help but smirk. They might have only shared a kiss, but right now, considering the circumstances, that was a big deal. And no one knew but them. They had missed the opening credits but who cared? She loved him, he loved her and despite the bad things over the course of the last few days, they were happy. Haley rejoined him on the couch and settled back into her spot as he draped an arm around her.

Nothing and no one would ruin this for them right now...

Brooke had made herself comfortable in Mouth's lap. She was actually a little unsure why she had thought of Mouth before anyone else. She always viewed him as a really great little brother but today she had wanted his company. Not necessarily in a sexual way, but definitely not in a just friends way either. She was getting confused.

Mouth had the biggest thing for her. He wanted so badly to spend the entire movie making out with her. In his eyes, Brooke was perfect. She was curvy and beautiful. She was not so smart but not stupid either. She was funny. She was cute. She was.. well, perfect. But he was struggling with the fact that he was such good friends with her and he didn't want that to be ruined, ever. But he also had feelings for her and he didn't think that those feelings were reciprocated. At least, not until she had called him. When her name had popped up on his phone, his heart raced. After he had knocked on the door and no one had answered, he figured it was some sick joke she had played on him because she HAD to know that he had feelings for her. But now here he was and she was sitting in his lap. He smiled just at the thought.

Brooke saw Mouth's face go from deep thought to happiness. She wondered what he was thinking. She looked around the room to see if anyone was paying attention to her. Lucas had Peyton in a half embrace on the floor; they were both staring at the TV. Nathan and Haley were too enamored in each other to even be paying attention to the movie. She looked back to Mouth, who was watching the movie, and placed her hand on the side of his face away from her, turning his head. She leaned over and placed a small, soft kiss on his lips. "Thanks for coming," she said, smiling.

_Mind officially blown. What just happened?_ "Uh, you're uh.. you're welcome... Brooke." he stuttered.

.

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**A/N: So, who's shocked? Brooke making a move on Mouth? Yeah, well.. see... I think that really, they could have been great together... ((Although, NOT opposed to Millie because pre-cocaine, I adored her.. now post-cocaine and recovering, I love her again.. and I'm entirely pro-Julian)) But in high school, they could've been great! So, givin it a shot.. Now that you've read, you know what to do! Review, review, REVIEW! =)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Whooooo... soooo, who's ready for what's about to come? The big Dan/Nathan showdown! Oh Lordy Lordy... I'm feeling sorry for Nathan already... Anyway, on to the fun! ((as fun as this can get.. eek.))**

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**Chapter 15**

As the credits rolled, no one was paying attention to the TV. Brooke had completely settled into Mouth's lap, his arms wrapped around her waist. This was an odd sight for the rest of the gang but no one seemed to mind it. Lucas was afraid that Brooke was playing with Mouth's heart but when he voiced his concerns to Peyton, she quickly told him that Brooke had been keeping this secret crush on Mouth for the last year or so. Lucas was shocked but happy. They were both great people, both destined to do great things, and they definitely deserved the best. Lucas and Peyton were resting comfortably in the floor; her head on his chest. Nathan and Haley hadn't paid a lot of attention to the movie and instead had been staring at each other the whole time. They had been completely silent but their eyes never moved. It was as if they had an entire conversation with their eyes alone. Nathan felt stronger, better. He felt like he could take on the world. All thoughts of anything negative were completely gone. All he could see was Haley and all he felt was love for her. Haley had forgotten anyone was even there with them until she heard a loud crashing noise.

The apartment door swung open and Nathan was on his feet. They all rose slowly from their spots as a set of broad shoulders walked through the door. Lucas was set and ready to leap at whomever it was that had barged in his brother's apartment. Talk about a protective big brother. Peyton was somewhat cowering behind Lucas, afraid that the person who had so suddenly came in the apartment was ready to lunge at the first person he saw. She definitely didn't want to be that person. Brooke and Mouth had jumped up from the armchair and were staring at the man with open mouths.

_Oh shit. Here we go._ Nathan clenched his fists, ready to swing at his father with the first cross word he said.

"Nathan Royal Scott. Who the hell do you think you are to keep me in the dark?" Dan's voice boomed through the apartment.

"I'm my own person, Dan, and it's my choice who I tell my business to. What is your problem?" he snapped back. He put a protective arm around Haley and semi-shoved her behind him.

"You need to leave, Dan. No one wants you here," Lucas stated.

"Well, that's obvious. I'm sorry I ruined your orgy. Glad to see that you're not putting too much strain on your heart, Nathan. Lucas, how'd your test go? Oh wait, that's right, you backed out. Hope you don't drop to the floor like Nathan," Dan seethed, the venom from his words dripping from his tongue.

Nathan shook his head. He looked over his shoulder at Haley and her big doe eyes were terrified. Nathan felt a pain in his heart. Not a heart attack pain or anything that he felt pertained to his HCM, but a pain from seeing his wife afraid of his own father. He was a cruel and cold-hearted man but there was no excuse for frightening his wife. His own actions had done enough of that lately.

"Leave. Now." Nathan said through clenched teeth.

"Not until you talk to me." Dan closed the door and sat down at the bar in the kitchen. "Come, sit." He patted the bar stool next to him. "You might want to excuse your friends. The door works pretty well. But you probably should have locked it."

Lucas shook his head now. "There's no way I'm leaving him with you, Dan."

Nathan nodded and mouthed a "thanks" to Lucas. He wasn't moving any closer to Dan. He didn't want to have to go to jail today."You talk to me, you talk to all of us. You know now so there's nothing to hide."

"Nothing to hide? Then tell me why you were staying at my house? Why weren't you here with your dear, sweet whore? Oh, excuse me, Haley, wife."

Nathan took a step forward and pulled his arm back, ready to hit Dan as hard as he could. Lucas quickly grabbed his arm. "He's not worth it, Nate."

Nathan let out a deep breath. "I don't have to explain anything to you. I was there and you knew it but didn't ask me then. Why does it matter to you now?"

"You're my son, Nathan and I worry about you. I never wanted this for you. And what about basketball? Have you talked to Whitey yet?"

"Again, none of your business."

"I'm making it my business." Dan stood up and approached Nathan. He pointed a finger at Nathan's chest. "This isn't just your dream going down the toilet!" he half shouted. "I put years of my life into training you and shaping you into the star that you are today! I spent hours and hours of my time turning you into something great and now I have to sit back and watch it all drift away! Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"

Haley was beyond livid. There were no words in the English language to describe how pissed off she was in that very moment. This was Nathan's father standing in front of them and he had the audacity to be worried about himself? What the hell was wrong with the world today? She couldn't stifle herself anymore. "Dan, are you a fucking idiot! You're worried about yourself right now? Oh my God! You wanna make a huge deal about Nathan still being your son even though he's emancipated but yet you're more concerned about living out your dream through him than about the fact that he could fucking die if he keeps playing the way YOU expect! Get the hell out of my kitchen, get the hell out of OUR apartment and stay the FUCK OUT of OUR LIVES!" she screamed as she pushed past Nathan and yanked Dan's arm. She tried her best to get him off the bar stool but to no avail. He simply smiled an evil smile and shoved her against the door of the apartment.

Nathan's eyes widened. He had never heard Haley talk like that, to anyone, ever. He was in shock. But as soon as his wife's back hit that door, he was on the defensive and his fist pulled back again. Without thinking twice, he lunged at his father and punched as hard as he could. Nathan hit Dan square in the jaw as he turned his attention from Haley to the fist coming toward his face. He just didn't move fast enough. Nathan's punch sat him back down on the bar stool and before he could grab the counter, the momentum pushed him to the floor.

Before anyone knew, Lucas was at Nathan's side, ready to beat the hell out of Dan for shoving his best friend (not to mention, his sister-in-law). But instead of pounding Dan's face in, he patted Nathan on the shoulder and nodded. Nathan nodded right back and the two reached down to help Dan off the floor. Dan was still stunned by the fact that his own son had just sucker punched the shit out of him and he accepted the help from the boys. But just as soon as they had picked him up, they opened the door and tossed him onto the stairs of the apartment building.

"Fuck you, Dan. Don't come here again," Lucas said as he retreated back into the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

When Lucas turned around, Nathan was clutching his chest. Haley had draped an arm around his back and the rest of the gang looked worried.

"Baby, where does it hurt?" Haley asked Nathan.

Brooke ran for the bathroom, yelling as she went, "Where's the asprin?"

"Medicine cabinet! The mirror!" Peyton yelled back.

"Nate, what's goin on?" Lucas asked, terror causing his voice to shake.

Nathan couldn't breathe. He couldn't hear. He couldn't move. All the voices in the room sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown and the Peanuts. He fell to his knees on the floor. He had never felt pain like this before. He wondered if God had allowed him to pass out on the court when he had taken those steroids just so that he could avoid pain like this. He wished that he could pass out right now. It started out as just a stab in his chest and quickly moved to his left arm, his shoulder and up into his neck, changing to a crushing pain as it moved. He knew what was happening. He was having a heart attack.

Lucas dialed 911. He couldn't just wait for Nathan to pass out or the asprin to take affect. He had to do something. Now.

"Nathan, I need you to tell me where it hurts so I can tell the EMT." Lucas said, as calmly as he could.

Nathan held his chest first. Lucas nodded. He could barely move but he managed to get his hand clutched around his upper arm. Lucas nodded to this too. "Anywhere else?" he asked. Slowly but surely, Nathan got his hand moved to his shoulder and pointed his finger in the direction of his shoulder blade. Lucas repeated everywhere that Nathan had showed him. He got off the phone and helped Nathan lay down in the floor.

"It's gonna be okay, buddy. We're gonna get you to the hospital and everything's gonna be alright."

He whispered to Haley for her to call Deb and tell her to meet them there. He didn't know what else to do. He felt so helpless. Brooke made it back into the living room and handed Lucas the asprin. He helped Nathan take it and rocked back onto his heels. Peyton looked at him with tears in her eyes and he noticed the tears in his own. There was nothing else he could do but wait.

Haley was shaking. She had no idea how to handle something like this. When it came to calling 911, she couldn't remember the number. She couldn't tell Brooke where the asprin was. She couldn't speak. All she could do was cry. The tears rolled silently down her cheeks as she stifled the sobs that were inevitably going to spew from her once Nathan couldn't see her. She needed to be strong for him. She watched him close his eyes and she grabbed his hand. 

"You're gonna be just fine, Baby. Just fine." she managed to get out in a thick, tear-filled voice. "Luke..." she looked up at her brother-in-law. He was crying too. Nathan was having a heart attack, they were all crying and no one could do anything but wait. It was taking the ambulance entirely too long to get there.

Mouth had opened the apartment door to ensure that they heard the sirens from the ambulance as soon as it pulled up. He even stepped out onto the balcony to watch for it. But in the midst of it all, he hung his head and cried. He and Nathan hadn't been close like he and Lucas were but it didn't mean that he didn't care for Nathan. He had envisioned nights of hanging out with just the guys, that was, if they would ever accept him for more than just the AV guy. He wanted to build a friendship with Nathan like what he had with Lucas. And now he was laying on the floor, having a heart attack and could die before the Paramedics got there. He heard sirens and turned to nod at Lucas.

Nathan started feeling even weirder. He felt fuzzy. He couldn't talk to explain it so it really did him no good to even try to figure it out in his head. At the moment, all he could think about was Haley. He was scared. He didn't want to die but he definitely didn't want to leave Haley by herself. He didn't want her to have to go through a funeral and being sad and upset. He didn't want to know that she would be in so much more pain than he was right now. Okay, so scared was a severe understatement. He was terrified. He wanted to tell Haley not to cry. He wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. He wanted to tell her that he loved her more than anything. But when he opened his mouth, he had to grit his teeth almost immediately. He winced from the amount of pain that shot through him as he took in a breath. So much pain. He was tired. _I think I'm just gonna go to sleep now. _Nathan wanted to tell them all that he was okay and he just wanted to take a nap.

"Stay with us, Nate! Come on, little brother! Stay with us!" Lucas cried out.

Nathan heard sirens. They sounded so far in the distance. He closed his eyes and the sirens seemed further away. He felt someone shake him, but he was just so tired. He couldn't hear Lucas anymore. All he could hear were Haley's sobs. Then silence.

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**A/N: So who didn't see that one coming? anybody? lol. Please review and let me know what you think! Sorry it's taken so long to get this out... you wouldn't believe all the grade a bullshit that has gone on in the last two weeks. Bahhh.. anyway, all types of reviews/criticisms are welcome! just be sure to click that button.. down there... **

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	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Oh my... so I think everyone was surprised.. and rather heartbroken by Nathan's recent health problems... maybe some of you weren't surprised... but hey, I tried. Lol. I am terribly sorry that it's taken me this long to update... we're pregnant again! And Baby has had me SUPER sleepy nonstop... plus, hubby and I have been having some issues lately ((he got promoted (yay!) and now works 6 days a week, 2 hours away.. issues might be an understatement...)) so it's been kinda difficult to even start to be in the mood to write.. On top of all of this, my grandmother has been in the hospital and my mom has been sick as well.. it's been hell in my world lately.. I really should start writing like two chapters at a time that way if I just don't have the motivation to write, I still have something to post for y'all and not make ya wait forever! Again, my apologies for the wait.. hopefully this is worth it. We'll do a bit of a time jump in this and what's going on will be explained! Get ready everyone! This might be pretty great! Read and Review! =))**

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**Chapter 16**

Haley sat at Nathan's bedside. She hadn't left in two weeks. She wasn't sure what the doctors had been telling her about Nathan still being in the coma. All she could hear when he spoke to her was her heartbeat against her eardrums. She was lost in her thoughts of Nathan. They had been so happy before Dan showed up and Nathan seemed like he forgave her for all the things she had done. She felt guilty that she hadn't told him how much she appreciated his forgiving heart. And now he was just lying there in that hospital bed, eyes closed, unmoving. She was exhausted and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Deb had been in and out of Nathan's room today. She was trying her best to let Haley have some time alone with him. Deb had spent the first night with Nathan in the hospital and couldn't hardly handle leaving but the very next morning she made her way to the police station. There was no way in the world that she was going to have to worry about Dan coming anywhere close to Nathan anymore. She filed a restraining order against him for Nathan while Haley kept an eye on him. Dan had already tried to come in Nathan's room the night before but security was called on him rather quickly. Deb assumed it must have been Lucas because that whole night was a blur. She had paid close attention to everything the doctor had told her about Nathan's condition. Nathan had suffered a pretty severe heart attack. That coupled with his already fragile heart, there was a chance that he would never wake up. But Deb couldn't accept that. That doctor didn't know her son. He was a fighter and he was going to wake up. Watching him lie there helpless was more than she could take today.

Lucas walked into Nathan's hospital room and saw Haley holding his hand, her other hand under her jaw attempting to keep her head up. Her eyes were closed and he wasn't sure if she was asleep or not. He walked to the other side of the bed and leaned down to whisper to Nathan that he was there. Sitting down in the chair, he simply stared at his brother, willing him to wake up. He had been back and forth in this room too many times to count in the last two weeks. He thought that maybe being at school would be a distraction for him but he was wrong. He couldn't focus on anything and definitely not the test he had fifth period yesterday. Oh yeah, huge fail. Literally. So he decided that he'd take today off school and spend it with his brother and sister-in-law.

"Hales?" he whispered, not sure that he wanted to wake her. She didn't move. He looked to his brother and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"Hey man. How's it hangin in there? Dude, I totally bombed a test yesterday. I walked in fifth period and didn't even know what class I was in. Heh. Nathan, we need you to open your eyes, buddy. Please. You and I have got to hit the River Court before you get too out of shape." He shook his head to avoid the tears he was feeling welling up in his eyes. "I love you... Please open your eyes."

Haley's head slid off her hand and jarred her awake. She slowly blinked her eyes, trying to figure out who was sitting across from her in her husband's room. "Luke..."

"Hey Hales. How ya feelin?"

She sighed. "I wanna take him home, awake."

Lucas nods. "I know. Hales, he's gunna be fine."

"I wish I could be so sure." The silence in the room was deafening. They had taken Nathan off the ventilator as he was having no problem breathing on his own. The doctors all said that his condition was improving but they just didn't know that he would wake up. It was all so confusing to Haley.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, babe." Nathan said, breaking the quiet.

Haley thought that she must be dreaming. She was suddenly wide awake and looked at Nathan, jaw dropped. His eyes were closed. She had to have nodded off again or something. Within the same second, she looked at Lucas, asking with her eyes if he heard it too.

"You're not dreamin', Haley. I love you." Nathan spoke again.

"Oh my God, you're awake!" she almost screamed. A smile broke across Lucas' face.

Nathan winced as he tried to shift in the hospital bed. "Yeah, but I'm not deaf, can you take it down a couple notches for me?"

She threw her arms around him and sobbed. Tears of joy for a change. She was so thrilled. "I love you, I love you, I love you! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Lucas felt the tears streaming down his cheeks and this time opted to let them flow. His brother was going to be alright! He was overjoyed! This was definitely the perfect day to have skipped school! "Nate, man, I-..."

"I know. Thanks for having my back, by the way."

Lucas smiled. "Anything for you, little brother. I'm gonna go find your mom. She'll want to know that you're awake." And with that, he left Haley and Nathan alone. He figured he'd get his minute alone later but right now was critical for them.

Haley had moved to sitting on the edge of the bed and rested a hand on Nathan's chest, feeling his heart beating. She looked into his eyes and smiled. "I missed you, ya know."

"Well, I missed you too. Hales... Life's too short... This really proves it. I don't wanna waste any time being mad at you. Screw what happened, all I know for sure is that I don't wanna spend a second away from you."

There went the tears again. She was so thankful that he was alive and that she had the chance to even hear his voice again. She couldn't have taken it if he never woke up. It seemed like there was still so much more to have to apologize for but neither of them wanted to talk about it. Haley just wanted to relish in the fact that her husband was here, he was alive. That was all that mattered...

**A/N: I'm sorry this is short, but I wanted to get something out to let y'all know that a) I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, b) I am still writing, c) I really do plan to update everything.. I'm sorry again.. I promise things will get done quicker now. I'm almost 13 weeks pregnant and have more energy than I've had in months! Lol. On to the next story to update!**


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